rekindling the fire for addiction counseling: beyond burnout jim seckman, mac, cacii, ccs
TRANSCRIPT
Rekindling the Fire
for Addiction
Counseling:
Beyond Burnout
Jim Seckman, MAC, CACII, CCS
What do you like about this field?
?
What happened?
• Managed Care
• Government Funding
• Regulatory/Accreditation Bodies
• Evidenced Based Practices
In the old days we really began to see how we made a difference in people’s lives.
Gradually, we began to have to dance to the tune of different masters.
Crisis Counseling
• A crisis of hope• Probably led to a lack of energy
• A crisis of relationship• May have led to a decrease of
confidence
• A crisis of expectation• May be what led to burnout
Burnout
Feeling
robbed of vitality helpless betrayed
Overwhelmed immobilized depressed
Fatigued oppressed apathetic
discouraged resistant
Negative isolated like a failure
Causes of Burnout
• Doing the same type of work with little variation
• Giving personally but not getting back
• Being under constant pressure to perform
• Working with a difficult population
• Conflict and tension among staff
Causes of Burnout
• Lack of trust between staff members
• Not have opportunities for personal expression or initiative
• Jobs that are taxing without supervision
• Unresolved personal conflicts
Awareness
Knowing others is wisdom. Knowing oneself is enlightenment
What are you feeling?
What are your feelings telling you?
Awareness
Our feelings give us information about
What’s going on inside of us
What‘s going on around us
What we need to do
Suggestions
• Work on clearly identifying old messages
• Evaluate your goals, priorities, and expectations
• Let go of unrealistic expectations
• Learn to monitor the impact of stress
• Immediately process intense encounters
• Take responsibility for yourelf
Boundaries
The emotional/physical space you allow
What defines our roles
Who we are as a counselor
Protection
Taking care of ourselves
External Boundaries
Snow White and the Huntsman
Develop detached concern
How is your energy taken?
How do we protect it?
How do we give it away?
How do we replenish it?
External Boundaries
• Container Model
• Suggestions for working with clients• Get rid of any “me vs. them”• Be present in the present• Separate the urgent vs. the necessary• Be clear about our stuff vs. their stuff• Be realistic about outcomes and
expectations• Don’t act out their anxiety• Work with the team
Internal Boundaries
Helps protect ourselves from self-defeating thoughts and behaviors
Our focus shapes our feelings
Our purpose defines our priorities
Internal Boundaries
Don’t get caught up in:
Allowing yourself to complain
Picturing yourself in other circumstances
Comparing your situation to someone else’s
Allowing yourself to wish things had been otherwise
Dwelling on tomorrow
Choices
Who do we blame?
Responsibility and control
Concentration Camp mentality
What choices are we making, or not making, to keep ourselves
alive?
Choices
Care for yourself
Be deliberate about doing good things for yourself and renewing your energy
Change
Two types of activities in life
Those that lead to life and those that lead to death
Death is easy
Life takes deliberate, intentional, choices and
behaviors
Change
Individuals who experience burnout believe they cannot change their
situation. To revitalize a career and move away from a burnout state, individuals need to change their
thought processes and viewpoints about the people and things that
may be contributing to their burnout.
Change
Get busy living
or
Get busy dying
Change
God, grant me the serenity
To accept the things I cannot change
The courage to change the things I can
And the wisdom to know the difference