The Trust is pleased to offer a new 2-part series, “Turning Toward Ourselves and Each Other: The Pivotal Nature of Clinician Self-Care” as part of our Virtual Webinar Series.

Recent headlines have highlighted the increased stresses on mental health clinicians, announcing that mental health providers are “struggling too,” “under strain,” at a “breaking point,” and that “another pandemic” of clinician burnout may be upon us. Along with familiar clinical hazards in our field, amid the pandemic, mental health providers now treat patients struggling with intensified health fears, social isolation, and financial strain, in a time of exceptional social upheaval, political rancor and division. They face significantly increased demands for their services, higher acuity levels in clients, and ongoing technological and regulatory complexities in providing telehealth services, especially across jurisdictions.

Compounding this further, in their own lives, clinicians are experiencing many of the same anxieties and pressures as their patients/clients, and in some cases are suffering significant personal losses and unprecedented disruption to their daily lives. This 2-part series looks directly at the clinician experience and focuses on the pivotal role of clinician self-care in our effort to help clients – and ourselves – adapt and cope during these difficult times.

Trust policyholders will earn 3 CE for each part by watching and passing an exam. You can also save 15% on your Trust Sponsored Professional Liability insurance policy for two consecutive renewal periods by combining 6 or more credit hours earned from each live or on-demand event in our Virtual Webinar Series. Please submit your CE certificates when you renew your policy.

Descriptions and learning objectives are listed below. To view the on-demand versions, simply click on the webinar name below.

Part 1: Understanding the Stakes and Recognizing the Terrain

Part 1 of this series examines self-care in detail – what it is and how it is essential to mental health treatment of all kinds. We will consider the ethical and regulatory obligations of all psychologists to proactively attend to self-care, explore its vital link to professional competence and clinical effectiveness, and situate self-care as one of the most essential risk-management practices available to clinicians.

In addition, we will look closely at the terrain of clinician distress, burnout, compassion fatigue, and vicarious traumatization. Relevant research and distinguishing features of each of these experiences will be examined, as will warning signs and indicators of potential impairment. In doing so we will consider the unique manifestations of these factors in our world today and the implications for providers and patients/clients alike. Lastly, a self-care continuum will be presented, with an expanded focus on wellness and a beginning look at possible pathways to clinician well-being and thriving.

Objectives:

1. Define self-care.
2. Identify the connection between effective self-care and psychologists’ ethical obligations, competence, and clinical effectiveness.
3. List at least five risks of not appropriately tending to self-care.
4. Explain components of distress, burnout, compassion fatigue, and vicarious traumatization and how to recognize each of these.
5. Describe the self-care continuum and various pathways to improving clinician well-being.
6. Apply self-care as a risk management strategy.

Part 2: Restoring and Sustaining Clinician Well-Being

Part 2 of this series focuses more specifically on how clinicians can restore and sustain their own well-being. It will start by addressing some of the barriers to effective self-care, and will emphasize the critical importance of transitioning the concept of self-care into living practices of daily life. A discussion of this personal integration will include self-monitoring strategies and the use of specific self-assessment tools, while also addressing the limitations of self-assessment if applied in the absence of invaluable interpersonal connection and support.

Specific techniques for moving out of burnout and addressing compassion fatigue and vicarious traumatization will be covered. The essential role of self-compassion in the promotion of wellness will be addressed, as will key components of resilience. Suggestions will be made for ways in which clinicians can move toward greater self-revitalization and well-being, both in an effort to support their own mental health and functioning and to enable clinicians to more effectively serve those with whom they work.

Objectives:

1. Describe at least three barriers to effective self-care.
2. Explain the concept of ‘lived’ self-care.
3. Identify two or more strategies for self-monitoring and self-assessment and articulate the limitations of self-assessment only.
4. Explain the role of self-compassion in the promotion of wellness and identify key components of resilience.
5. Describe at least five specific strategies or techniques for moving out of burnout and related conditions and increasing self-revitalization and resilience.
6. Design a personalized self-care plan.

NOTE: This information is provided as a risk management resource and is not legal advice or an individualized personal consultation. At the time this resource was prepared, all information was as current and accurate as possible; however, regulations, laws, or prevailing professional practice standards may have changed since the posting or recording of this resource. Accordingly, it is your responsibility to confirm whether regulatory or legal issues that are relevant to you have since been updated and/or to consult with your professional advisors or legal counsel for timely guidance specific to your situation. As with all professional use of material, please explicitly cite The Trust as the source if you reproduce or distribute any portion of these resources.