Tag: help

Popular Psychology, Therapist are Humans Too

The Importance Of A Good Support System

by Torey C. Richards, LMHCLeave a Comment on The Importance Of A Good Support System

It’s National Novel Writing Month and I am still plugging away towards the finish line at 11:59pm, November 30th and 50,000 words.

So far I have about 43,000 words so I am on track, but that wasn’t so just a few days ago.

Just a few days ago I was behind by about 7,000 words and had almost thrown in the towel. With the Holiday, friends and family, and just the normal stressors of life, my motivation was starting to wane and giving up would have been a lot easier than plowing through my train wreck of a story.

Thank goodness for something called nanowrimosprints (https://twitter.com/NaNoWordSprints) on twitter. It’s a twitter feed that challenges you with prompts, but most importantly, time specific writing frenzies to really pump you up and get you to writing.

It breaks up the monotony of feeling like I am working alone when I am being challenged along with thousands of other participants.

Write-Ins do the same thing, where writers meet up and write together, challenging each other to increase their word count and stay motivated and focused.

Writing can be such a lonely hobby and knowing that I am not alone in this journey really helps, and that’s what pulled me away from throwing in the towel and helped me to get back on track.

That got me to thinking about the importance of having a good support system.

Working in the psychiatric hospital, it was easy to see that clients who had good support systems usually had a better prognosis than clients who didn’t.

Clients who’s family and friends were involved in their care usually had less relapses (and less severe relapses) and shorter hospital stays.

Working in the school setting, it’s not very much different. Students who have good familial support, good friends and supporting teachers/adults, usually cope better with whatever issues they are facing, compared to students who do not.

It’s important that we all have a good “team” around us. When we don’t have anyone to be accountable to or to lean on for support, it’s easy to give up.

A lot of times we think we have to do things on our own, and no doubt, often we can and have to because no one can do the work for us, but it is very important and beneficial to have a supporting team who can help keep us accountable, honest, motivated and on track. And we can do the same for others.

Think about who is on your team right now, who would you like to be on your team in the future? Family members, friends or professionals are all viable candidates. Sometimes we don’t think about these things until we are in the middle of an issue or crisis.

Think about when things were really great. Who did you have around you that supported you?

Maybe right now everything is good and you don’t really think you need a support system and that’s great, but it’s always a good idea to know who you can turn to when you need help.

Your support system can help remind you to stick to your diet, exercise, take your medicine, stay away from bad people/ situations, save money, etc.

It’s ultimately up to you to accomplish your goals and live the life you want to live, but having a good support system goes a long way in making those things achievable.

Therapist are Humans Too

Compassion Fatique

by Torey C. Richards, LMHC2 Comments on Compassion Fatique

As a therapist there have been several times in my career when I have felt the classic symptoms of what is known as compassion fatigue, also known as secondary traumatic stress disorder.

Compassion fatigue is the gradual decrease in compassion one feels for others over time. It is common not only in people who have been affected by trauma, but also in those who work directly with people who have been affected by trauma including those working in helping professions such as doctors, nurses, counselors, and welfare workers. Compassion fatigue is also common amongst lawyers and there is growing concern that the general population is often subjected to compassion fatigue due to the media’s constant coverage of disasters, violence and suffering.

Compassion fatigue can also been seen in charitable given. Such as if there is a major earth quake today the number of people giving charity may decrease as people grow frustrated with the way donations are handled or with the sheer size of the tragedy.  

Signs and symptoms

People suffering from compassion fatigue often feel hopeless, anhedonia (have a decrease in experiencing pleasure), negative attitude, and ongoing stress and anxiety.  In some cases compassion fatigue can be so bad that it’s effects can be similar to post traumatic stress disorder, which is why it’s often called secondary traumatic stress disorder: the person experiencing secondary traumatic stress disorder may experience fear, anxiety, nightmares and avoidant behaviors after hearing about a traumatic event from a client/patient as if he or she had experienced the event themselves.

The person experiencing compassion fatigue can show decrease in productivity, self-esteem, feelings of incompetence, self-doubt, difficulty focusing and other signs that often resemble depression. These can effect both the persons personal and professional life.

Personal Experience

Usually I feel compassion fatigue after many months of intense, often frustrating therapeutic work, no vacation, and little to no outlet to express my feelings and thoughts about my work or even about my personal life. What happens is that I find myself becoming easily irritated, frustrated and aggravated. I tend to have less energy and patience overall, especially when it comes to dealing with difficult clients. All of this makes it hard to really be present during sessions and when I get home I find myself wanting to be left alone with my pessimistic thoughts about myself, my work and the world at large.

A good therapist recognizes these signs and symptoms and knows when to take a break before compassion fatigue starts to impact them, their clients and those around them negatively.  It is important for all of us to recognize when we are suffering from compassion fatigue so that we can start taking care of our self. Taking a break, a vacation, talking to someone or just disconnecting from the world for a while may be needed (i.e. if someone is suffering secondary traumatic stress disorder after watching hours and hours of footage of a terrorist tragedy on CNN).

We must all learn when we need to take a break and how to practice self-care, a discussion for another post. As for me, I’m taking on a lighter case load which is typical for me during the summer, and I am also taking a vacation in July as well as trying to get back to some of the things that make me feel at peace with myself such as reading, writing and drawing. I know that once I have taken care of myself, I will be better capable of helping others learn to also take care of themselves.