Medical & Mental Health Professionals

Sustaining Yourself as a Healthcare Provider

Care providing has obvious challenges — stress, energy demands, tension, and excess workload. And it has hidden costs — self-criticism, sacrificing your own self-care, burnout, vicarious trauma, imposter syndrome, and falling into despair. This is true for professional healthcare providers and also for those who are caring for ailing family member or friends.

Fear of Stigmatization

A significant number of patients/clients that I counsel in my private practice are individuals of the medical profession (e.g. physicians, nurses, paramedics) and individuals of the mental health profession (e.g. psychiatrists, psychologists).

Most of my patients/clients report significant fear of stigmatization and other concerns...and because of their fear…I offer confidential HIPAA-secured encrypted Online video sessions so you can meet with me from the privacy of your home or wherever you feel comfortable.  I also offer “Concierge Services” yes, indeed,  I provide “House Calls” and I also provide Direct Priority Access directly to me, always… With same day appointments, evenings, and weekends.

There is a societal expectation that those in the healing professions should be just “perfect”, but the reality is we are all human.

There is a societal expectation that those in the healing professions should be just perfect, but the reality is we are all human.  We are all in the human condition together.  We are often subject to the same physical and emotional pain and vulnerabilities as everyone else.

And yet, medical & mental health professionals all report to me being significantly impacted by the heavy burdens of their jobs. Pressures of work and home responsibilities, physical and/or mentally demanding responsibilities, and long, strenuous hours resulting in emotional overwhelm and physical overwhelm.

Emotional distress, stressed out, overwhelm, burnout, vicarious secondary trauma, compassion and fatigue, do not discriminate.  My patients/clients often report feeling ashamed, like a fraud or a hypocrite “Imposter Syndrome”, that they are in the healing profession to heal patients while secretly struggling themselves.

My patients/clients are the true Warriors and the greatest healers. They recognize mental health issues, If left untreated, can lead to physical illness, aches/pains, relationship problems, self-medicating, feelings of ineffectiveness, existential issues, and a myriad of possible debilitating problems that may impact the potential to negate providing quality care and service to others.

People who go into the helping professions can benefit from working with another doctor to assess their self-care strategies, their vulnerabilities to burnout or addictions, and to ensure that they have access to the same type of compassion, unconditional positive regard, and assistance in developing effective coping strategies that their patients receive from them.

Prevention of professional burnout, compassion fatigue, vicarious traumas for Medical Healthcare providers

Healthcare providers benefit greatly from ongoing therapy or mental health check-ups not only when they are experiencing problems in their personal lives, just like anyone who is human, but healthcare providers may need it in order to prevent professional burnout, “compassion fatigue”, and vicarious secondary trauma responses.   While being a Healthcare provider is among one of the most rewarding professions, it has unique challenges and can take a toll on the Healthcare provider and their family members unless plans for self-care are followed.

Because of the nature of some types of Healthcare work, some providers can experience vicarious or secondary traumatization from working with patients with trauma or abuse histories and benefit from talking with another professional to deal with that traumatization so it does not lead to the inability to continue to do that work.

How Can Psychotherapy & Counseling Help the Medical and Mental Health Professions?

Psychotherapy and counseling is self-care. It is about showing up for yourself so you can be the best you can be for your family, community, and professional responsibilities. Psychotherapy and Lifestyle Counseling can help you learn healthy ways of coping (including how to set appropriate limits and to adjust expectations of Self ) and, subsequently, protect yourself, your relationships, and your profession.

Prevention is always easier than Intervention

We all know in the medical and mental health field that “Prevention is always easier than intervention”  Psychotherapy and Lifestyle counseling can mitigate the toll that helping others can take on the brain, mind, body, emotions, and performance .

People who are in the helping professions can benefit from working with a PhD Clinical Psychologist to assess self-care strategies, vulnerabilities to stress, burnout, vicarious trauma, depression, etc. and to ensure that they have access to the same type of compassion, unconditional positive regard, quality care, dedication, and assistance that their patients receive from them.

I am dedicated to my colleagues of the medical and mental health professions
…..And other miraculous healers.

Click here to schedule a Colleague Connect.

• Online Clinic  USA & EU
• House Calls
• Concierge ~ Direct Priority Access
• Walk with a Doc ~ Miami Beach
• Private practice space

 

Shawna Freshwater, PhD

Licensed Clinical Psychologist and Neuropsychologist

 

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