Isolation, burnout and sustainability
If I had a dollar for every time a psychologist had told me they felt isolated, lonely or frustrated with the lack of solidarity in the profession, I would be retired and cruising around Australia in a Winnabago.
It's the worst kept secret in our industry.
and it's not just psychologists.
If you're a mental health professional and you run a solo practice, this probably includes you.
Reducing isolation and connecting mental health professionals is a driving force in the creation of Private Practice Sustainability.
It's the worst kept secret in our industry.
and it's not just psychologists.
If you're a mental health professional and you run a solo practice, this probably includes you.
Reducing isolation and connecting mental health professionals is a driving force in the creation of Private Practice Sustainability.
- All psychologists and other mental health professionals need to prioritise their self-care and find a community to support them in order to have a sustainable private practice.
Self-care for psychologists. What is fierce self-care and why does it matter?
What is fierce self-care? It's the process of engaging in responsive and proactive self-care. It's dynamic, passionate, deliberate and assertive.
It's about developing an awareness of what you need, and a process of giving it to yourself.
It's about not leaving it to chance, putting it at the bottom of your to do list or shoving it into the spaces of your day.
It matters, because you matter.
Your life, your work, your relationships, your health. They matter just as much as the client you are helping, the boss you are working for and your family.
Whether you are a psychologist, counsellor, or other mental health professional, welcome.
Whatever path you followed to be here, and I know it may have been a very windy one, your intent is to help make other people's lives better and probably to make your own life better. When you scratch the surface it's amazing how many mental health professionals have had early trauma or difficult times that have inspired them into this industry.
Combine your complex history with the risk factors of burnout including vicarious trauma, admin, physical immobility (being stuck at a desk), stigma around seeking self-care, a tendency to engage in people pleasing at the expense of your needs and the need for fierce self-care to have a sustainable career becomes apparent.
It's about developing an awareness of what you need, and a process of giving it to yourself.
It's about not leaving it to chance, putting it at the bottom of your to do list or shoving it into the spaces of your day.
It matters, because you matter.
Your life, your work, your relationships, your health. They matter just as much as the client you are helping, the boss you are working for and your family.
Whether you are a psychologist, counsellor, or other mental health professional, welcome.
Whatever path you followed to be here, and I know it may have been a very windy one, your intent is to help make other people's lives better and probably to make your own life better. When you scratch the surface it's amazing how many mental health professionals have had early trauma or difficult times that have inspired them into this industry.
Combine your complex history with the risk factors of burnout including vicarious trauma, admin, physical immobility (being stuck at a desk), stigma around seeking self-care, a tendency to engage in people pleasing at the expense of your needs and the need for fierce self-care to have a sustainable career becomes apparent.
How to Survive and Thrive as a Psychologist. Five Things You Need to Know. A FREE digital resource.
What is a sustainable private practice?
A sustainable private practice is one that is viable, sound, able to be maintained against attack, one that operates in a continuous way over a period of time.
It needs to hold up through all the known factors that contribute to burnout: including
It needs to hold up through all the known factors that contribute to burnout: including
- isolation
- lack of support
- administration stress.
What are the foundations of a sustainable private practice?
Here are three key principals that will hold up no matter where your calling takes you.
1. An enjoyment of (most) of your work.
I enjoy working with clients. I enjoy making my podcasts, I enjoy helping clinicians with their self-care strategies and I enjoy discussions with colleagues about the mental health industry, collaborations and almost everything.
What bits of your work do you love?
2. A need to maintain good physical and mental health.
Without this you cannot work.
This means a commitment to fierce intentional self-care. Of all kinds – physical, cognitive, emotional, meaning and connection.
3. You need to earn sufficient income so that your work is financially viable.
This includes attracting enough of the right type of clients, setting appropriate fees, diversifying income sources etc.
The above three points have become sharper and clearer overtime.
They can’t be compromised without significant consequences, without losing viability to live out my vocational calling.
How I fulfil these three principals, and what format they take will change over time.
What I’ve found over the years is that placing myself and my needs first, is a key to sustaining my vocation. Right now that’s as a private psychologist.
To remain in this industry, to survive and thrive, there are a few things that you need to have: an awareness of the challenges, including the high rate of burnout, a support network, firm boundaries, fierce self-care, and an understanding of your legal and ethical requirements.
When I graduated and started my psychology career over 17 years ago, I did not know one other psychologist, I had no peers and no mentors.
I completed my Masters as a part-time mature student with two very young children and a husband as a first responder, doing rotating shifts..
On graduation I was straight away offered work in a private practice, which was so exciting. However, over time all I really came to know was that practice. Their policies and procedures, their client base. The owner was a wonderful psychologist, but my knowledge of psychology as a professional world was very limited.
So at first I soaked all this in, then I struggled. I really had nowhere to go with my thoughts, to figure out what clientele I actually wanted to see, to understand the bigger world of psychology..
Fast forward to today where I work as a solo psychologist and micro business owner and get to make all the decisions about how my business looks and what I focus on. Where I am supported in formal and informal networks of business and professional peers.
What it looks like for you will be different from what it looks like for me. Where you find your enjoyment, what you need to maintain your health, and how you establish financial viability will be unique.
1. An enjoyment of (most) of your work.
I enjoy working with clients. I enjoy making my podcasts, I enjoy helping clinicians with their self-care strategies and I enjoy discussions with colleagues about the mental health industry, collaborations and almost everything.
What bits of your work do you love?
2. A need to maintain good physical and mental health.
Without this you cannot work.
This means a commitment to fierce intentional self-care. Of all kinds – physical, cognitive, emotional, meaning and connection.
3. You need to earn sufficient income so that your work is financially viable.
This includes attracting enough of the right type of clients, setting appropriate fees, diversifying income sources etc.
The above three points have become sharper and clearer overtime.
They can’t be compromised without significant consequences, without losing viability to live out my vocational calling.
How I fulfil these three principals, and what format they take will change over time.
What I’ve found over the years is that placing myself and my needs first, is a key to sustaining my vocation. Right now that’s as a private psychologist.
To remain in this industry, to survive and thrive, there are a few things that you need to have: an awareness of the challenges, including the high rate of burnout, a support network, firm boundaries, fierce self-care, and an understanding of your legal and ethical requirements.
When I graduated and started my psychology career over 17 years ago, I did not know one other psychologist, I had no peers and no mentors.
I completed my Masters as a part-time mature student with two very young children and a husband as a first responder, doing rotating shifts..
On graduation I was straight away offered work in a private practice, which was so exciting. However, over time all I really came to know was that practice. Their policies and procedures, their client base. The owner was a wonderful psychologist, but my knowledge of psychology as a professional world was very limited.
So at first I soaked all this in, then I struggled. I really had nowhere to go with my thoughts, to figure out what clientele I actually wanted to see, to understand the bigger world of psychology..
Fast forward to today where I work as a solo psychologist and micro business owner and get to make all the decisions about how my business looks and what I focus on. Where I am supported in formal and informal networks of business and professional peers.
What it looks like for you will be different from what it looks like for me. Where you find your enjoyment, what you need to maintain your health, and how you establish financial viability will be unique.
What is the Essential Self-Care for Psychologists Program?
Essential Self-Care for Psychologists is an approach to combat the many stressors that psychologists face: including burnout, political division, isolation, and a high mental load. It focuses on practical, positive and proactive ways to use strategies we know work to enhance wellbeing. These are divided into five foundations: self-care physical, cognitive, emotional, connection and meaning.
Research into self-care shows that Psychologists as a profession tend to neglect their own self-care and dismiss some of the early warning signs of burnout. Essential Self-Care for Psychology membership and programs aims to turn this around so that as mental health leaders we are leading the way in looking after our own wellbeing.
This program is currently being run in an online self-paced model.
Research into self-care shows that Psychologists as a profession tend to neglect their own self-care and dismiss some of the early warning signs of burnout. Essential Self-Care for Psychology membership and programs aims to turn this around so that as mental health leaders we are leading the way in looking after our own wellbeing.
This program is currently being run in an online self-paced model.
