TPC-Journal-V2-Issue1

The Professional Counselor \Volume 2, Issue 1 95 the problems they are having, in a safe place to do that.” He conceded that time constraints often hinder this process because, “there’s a lot of crisis and things come up at any given moment. So, you have a schedule, but something trumps it very quickly.” David discussed the benefits of having a positive supervisor who made time for clinical supervision with him, stating: It was a really important part of me so when I was getting close to burnout or when I was stressed out or in a funk or whatever, I could talk to him and that kind of supervision process which was more than just once a week for an hour. It was more of an as needed kind of a thing and was very, very helpful. It was more than just clients, so it was very helpful for personal growth and so I was totally happy to have that. Participants described time constraints as significant barriers to their wellness and consequently their ability to provide the best care to clients. However, they also discussed how access to human resources (e.g., supervisors) can positively influence their sense of wellness and development. Occupational Hazards A second theme that emerged was occupational hazards. This theme involved the psychologically intense characteristics of the work itself that threaten wellness and included concepts such as empathy fatigue, vicarious traumatization, depersonalization, lack of meaning and wounded healing. Participants discussed the challenges of helping difficult clients while attempting to maintain their own wellness. One participant, Peter, discussed his struggle to not personally take on too much of the clients’ concerns. He stated that: I think the biggest challenge that I’ve faced, and I can’t say this challenge is gone to this day, is that I took on a lot of my clients’ stuff. You know, you hear as a counselor you develop empathy for your clients with their challenges and their stories and experiences can be very traumatic and you know can be very impactful. So I think the biggest thing that I had that was impactful is I feel I would take on a lot and I would feel a lot more of what others struggled to face, as opposed to be there in the moment and then walk away from it… That was something, if you think about wellness as this bubble around me and that bubble keeps me from taking on too much of people’s stuff and keeps me mentally and personally safe, then my wellness was gone, the bubble was gone. Another participant, Anne, discussed the burden that builds when occupational hazards are ignored by the agency and/ or supervisors: A lot of vicarious trauma, grief trauma left unprocessed. When a patient dies it is like—okay next. My administrator actually said that we assume you are coming in with the clinical skills and you will take care of yourself with that. There is no facilitative process or it is not acknowledged in our agency—that it could be happening to us as counselors. We are not given a moment to have that time. [The administrators say] be sure your taking care of yourselves out there—it is sort of you take care of yourself out there. Yet another participant, David, discussed how the quick client turnaround in the inpatient facility led him to question the value and meaning in his work when he stated: It was a lot of treat and street, so in other words they come in, you’re basically working on discharge paperwork from the first day you meet them, so you are already thinking about where they need to go…I mean they had lost everyone else in their lives and they felt isolated and alone, so the relationship was incredibly crucial and I think most people would agree that the relationship is the most important part of the counseling process, and you can’t build a relationship if basically when they are coming in you are looking at the chart trying to get the form filled out and trying to get them out the door because either insurance won’t pay or it’s a bed that needs to be emptied out so it can be filled with someone who can maybe last longer. David went on to discuss his resulting emotions: There is almost like this shame/guilt you are kind of feeling or struggling with where you feel like you can’t seem to get anywhere, or I am not doing anything, or what am I doing…Am I helping?...Does this matter? And I think that once you have lost that meaning in your work, that passion for what you are doing then it just kind of all, it’s a sinking ship at that point and wellness is just kind of out the window, you just get frustrated. Participants also discussed the potential setbacks that can occur when professional counselors over-identify with their clients (e.g., wounded healer). Helen comments on how unfinished business unfolds in an agency: