How therapists cope with compassion fatigue

2020-09-08T11:02:42+00:00

By Tannis Price, therapist-in-training Have you ever found yourself feeling numb to other people’s problems, or to sad stories on the news? Have you ever screened a call from a friend because you just “didn’t have it in you” to hear them vent?  Everyone feels this way sometimes, but if you’re in a career on the frontlines of treating trauma, that numbness may be a result of “compassion fatigue,” or burnout. Several studies found that 27 to 37 percent of trauma therapists experienced emotional burnout persistently.   As a therapist in training, it’s one of the risks I’m most worried about. Compassion [...]

How therapists cope with compassion fatigue2020-09-08T11:02:42+00:00

Yoga at home for depression and anxiety

2020-04-13T09:30:39+00:00

“Isolation makes any problem bigger,” says Leslie Wilkin, a clinical social worker. Normally, Leslie Wilkin sees her clients at Island Health in Nanaimo face-to-face for depression, anxiety, addictions, and other mental health challenges. Due to Covid-19, in-person therapy has ceased, and her clients have less access to personal supports because of social distancing. Wilkin worries that this disruption to routine could make existing conditions worse. “We look to the people in our network for cues of safety and reassurance. If you can’t get a hold of your counsellor, you can’t go to your group, you’re not meeting friends, and all you’re [...]

Yoga at home for depression and anxiety2020-04-13T09:30:39+00:00

Chew on this, Blue Monday

2019-01-21T13:48:26+00:00

If Blue Monday is a duvet day, Depression is a bare mattress, a pile of stinking sheets and a coin washer four flights down.   This is not a typical Blue Monday post with five tips for overcoming the most depressing day of the year. Because real depression is NOT a case of the Mondays. It’s a relentless case of the every-days.   Usually - but not always - solutions are a combination of approaches, including medication, diet and/or exercise. But even following your treatment plan to the letter, doesn’t prevent relapses. Some 80% of people with diagnosed depression will experience [...]

Chew on this, Blue Monday2019-01-21T13:48:26+00:00

Feeling panicky? Calm down quickly by paying attention to your body

2018-11-20T16:00:04+00:00

Your stomach hurts. Your neck and shoulders have hardened to concrete. Your vision and hearing are stuttering. You feel dizzy. Your mind is hunting for dangers, for solutions, for something … you’re not sure what.This might be how you feel when your body becomes dysregulated or overwhelmed. It’s definitely a feeling familiar to yoga students at Pacifica Treatment Centre, an addiction recovery residence where our volunteers 4 weekly teach trauma-informed classes. Usually this means you’re worrying so much about events in the future or replaying events in the past, that you aren’t even aware of the present - except for those [...]

Feeling panicky? Calm down quickly by paying attention to your body2018-11-20T16:00:04+00:00

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