Abstract
We all have our own definitions—our own experiences—of burnout, of fatigue borne of caring too much. We work with people who are sick, traumatically injured, dying. We work in environments with increasing administrative pressure for billable “productivity.” We and our coworkers are equally stressed out and grappling with feeling helpless. The purpose of this chapter is to spark your own inner wisdom about how to take care of yourself, even in the midst of profound suffering. While the bulk of what follows is academic, or at least intellectual, including clinical definitions of key concepts, prevalence data, evidence base for various interventions, and concrete tips, the real “take away” is in cultivating your practice of listening to your own heart.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Figley CR, editor. Compassion fatigue as secondary traumatic stress disorder: An overview. In: Compassion fatigue: coping with secondary traumatic stress disorder in those who treat the traumatized. New York: Brunner-Routledge; 1995. p. 1–20.
Mathieu F. Running on empty: compassion fatigue in health professionals. Rehabilitation and Community Care Medicine; 2007. 8–10.
Lloyd C. Burnout. In: Stone JH, Blouin M, editors. International encyclopedia of rehabilitation. 2010. http://cirrie.buffalo.edu/encyclopedia/en/article/2/.
Carod-Artal FJ, Vázquez-Cabrera C. Burnout syndrome in an international setting. In: Burnout for experts. New York: Springer; 2013. p. 15–35.
Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders. Arlington: American Psychiatric Association; 2013.
International statistical classification of diseases and related health problems, ICD-10. 10th ed. New York: World Health Organization; 2008.
Flett R, Biggs H, Alpass F. Job-related tension, self-esteem and psychological distress in rehabilitation professionals. Int J Rehabil Res. 1995;18(2):123–32.
Maslach C, Goldberg J. Prevention of burnout: new perspectives. Appl Preventive Psychol. 1999;7(1):63–74.
Gentry J, Baggerly J, Baranowsky A. Compassion fatigue resilience training for rehabilitation counselors. Rehabil Rev. 2004;24(10):12–4.
McCracken LM, Yang S-Y. A contextual cognitive-behavioral analysis of rehabilitation workers’ health and well-being: influences of acceptance, mindfulness, and values-based action. Rehabil Psychol. 2008;53(4):479.
Maslach C, Jackson SE, Leiter MP. Maslach burnout inventory manual. Palo Alto: Consulting Psychologists Press; 1996.
Maslach C, Leiter MP, Jackson SE. Making a significant difference with burnout interventions: researcher and practitioner collaboration. J Organ Behav. 2012;33(2):296–300.
Wolfe GA. Burnout of therapists inevitable or preventable? Phys Ther. 1981;61(7):1046–50.
Stebnicki MA. Stress and grief reactions among rehabilitation professionals: dealing effectively with empathy fatigue. J Rehabil. 2000;66(1):23–9.
Gray‐Stanley J, Muramatsu N, Heller T, Hughes S, Johnson T, Ramirez‐Valles J. Work stress and depression among direct support professionals: the role of work support and locus of control. J Intellect Disabil Res. 2010;54(8):749–61.
Bersoff DN. Ethical conflicts in psychology. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association; 2003.
Gentry J, Baranowsky A. Treatment manual for the accelerated recovery program: Set II. Toronto: Psych Ink; 1998.
Gentry JE, Baranowsky A, Dunning K. ARP: the accelerated recovery program (ARP) for compassion fatigue. In: Figley CR, editor. Treating compassion fatigue. New York: Brunner; 2002. p. 123–37.
Gentry J, Baggerly J, Baranowsky A. Training-as-treatment: effectiveness of the certified compassion fatigue specialist training. Int J Emerg Ment Health. 2003;6(3):147–55.
Donohoe E, Nawawi A, Wilker L, Schindler T, Jette DU. Factors associated with burnout of physical therapists in Massachusetts rehabilitation hospitals. Phys Ther. 1993;73(11):750–6.
Saban KL, Hogan TP, DeFrino D, et al. Burnout and coping strategies of polytrauma team members caring for Veterans with traumatic brain injury. Brain Inj. 2013;27(3):301–9.
Gentry E, Baggerly J, Baranowsky AB. Compassion fatigue resilience training for rehabilitation counselors. Rehabil Rev. 2004;24(10):12–4.
Meade M, Wilson C, Brownsberger M. Self care for rehabilitation psychologists. Paper presented at Rehabilitation psychology mid-winter conference, Tucson; 2010.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2017 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Brownsberger, M.G., Sunderaraman, P. (2017). Burnout Prophylactics: Professional Self-Care. In: Budd, M., Hough, S., Wegener, S., Stiers, W. (eds) Practical Psychology in Medical Rehabilitation. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-34034-0_55
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-34034-0_55
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-34032-6
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-34034-0
eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)