Mental Health for Mental Health Professionals

When we think about mental health for mental health professionals, we’d be remiss if we didn’t  acknowledge the high levels of stress, burnout, and even suicide among therapists and clinicians. 

When it comes to mental health for therapists, burnout affected more than half (52%) of therapists, according to a SimplePractice 2023 report, and over 36% of psychologists, according to an American Psychology Association (APA) 2023 survey.  .

It’s essential for clinicians to understand the mental health statistics in our profession, therapist burnout symptoms to look for, and effective therapist self-care strategies.

What percentage of psychologists have a mental illness? 

Even though we normalize talking about mental health with our clients, mental health professionals may be more reserved when it comes to sharing their own struggles, despite being at an increased risk for depression, anxiety, substance use, and suicidality. 

However, the risk of negative judgments from colleagues and pervasive burnout within the profession can make it feel more difficult to speak up. This sentiment is echoed by psychology professionals Sarah E. Victor, et al., in a study about the fear of speaking out about lived experiences of psychopathologies. 

The positionality statement quoted in the article says:

“We, the authors and signatories, have personal lived experience of psychopathology. Further, we have felt, feared, or witnessed adverse consequences related to stigma towards psychopathology in our professional training and careers.”

However, they also acknowledged the need for substantial change in our field in terms of recognizing the lived experience of mental health conditions within the profession and finding ways to address it. 

They add: “We believe that acknowledging lived experience of psychopathology within our professional community—specifically, among those working to understand and reduce it—is an integral component of efforts to improve diversity, equity, and inclusion within psychological science.”

That said, there is some data highlighting mental health challenges among clinicians:

• A study in Perspectives on Psychological Science found that 80% of respondents (in a mental health internship or job) reported a lifetime history of mental health difficulties, and 48% reported a diagnosed mental health disorder. The mental health diagnoses reported most commonly included depression, generalized anxiety disorder, and suicidal thoughts and behaviors.
  
• A Medscape survey reported that 47% of psychiatrists and mental health professionals experienced high rates of burnout, with rates higher among female clinicians (46%, compared to 30% for male colleagues).
  
• A review of data and literature on psychologist suicide found evidence of elevated risk of suicide and cited numerous studies they reviewed showing clinicians faced mental health concerns. For example, they included one study completed by 800 psychologists, which found:
  
  • 1 In 4 reported having felt suicidal
  • Nearly 4% made a suicide attempt
  • 61% had at least one episode of clinical depression
    

Understanding and addressing burnout and compassion fatigue

In SimplePractice’s 2023 Therapist Well-Being Report, we found that therapist burnout affected over half (52%) of therapists. This has caused 67% of therapists to reduce their workloads and 47% to question their ability to stay committed to the profession. 

The SimplePractice therapist burnout report found that significant stressors contributing to burnout included:

• Work-life balance challenges (impacting 60% of respondents).
  
• Administrative burdens in running a practice (affecting 55% of respondents).
  
• Compassion fatigue (having a negative impact on 54% of respondents). 

Another essential factor to consider is the demand for mental health services. The latest data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that employment of substance abuse, behavioral disorder, and mental health counselors will grow more than the average for other mental health occupations (such as psychiatrists and social workers) at a rate of up to 18%. 

Among psychologists, an APA survey found that 60% did not have openings for new patients, and over 40% had waitlists of 10 or more patients. 

Critical signs of compassion fatigue and burnout 

Signs of compassion fatigue in therapists include:

• Emotional: Feeling detached, helpless, or cynical.
  
• Physical: Persistent tiredness, sleep difficulties, or frequent illnesses.
  
• Behavioral: Social withdrawal, increased absenteeism, and difficulty concentrating.
  
• Psychological: Symptoms of depression or anxiety, intrusive thoughts, or self-doubt.
  
• Interpersonal: Conflicts in relationships, decreased job satisfaction, and not asking for help.

Burnout includes similar symptoms, such as low energy, chronic exhaustion, anxiety, depression, and feeling worn out. 

Clinicians might also experience cynicism, feel like one more request might “send them over the edge,” or find themselves saying, “I hate being a therapist!”

Therapist suicide rate

Studies show that mental health professionals and first responders have higher rates of suicide due to higher levels of psychological stress, vicarious trauma, and compassion fatigue. 

A study reporting on the impacts of exposure to suicide showed that nearly 83% of social workers and counselors had experienced a patient attempt or complete suicide. 

A further study found psychologist suicide deaths accounted for 5% of suicides among 10 included health professions. 

Effective strategies for self-care and stress management

If you are struggling with burnout, compassion fatigue, or the demands of being a clinician, you also know the importance of taking some time to take care of yourself. 

However, it’s important to also acknowledge the privilege of taking time for yourself or even having the energy to do something restorative. 

We all know the benefits of self-care, but oftentimes, it is inaccessible.

The last thing we want is to add any more to an already endless list of things to do, so these strategies take no more than 10 minutes and are simply meant to be a refresher of what you already know.

Here is a list of mental health tips for mental health professionals:

1. Book an appointment with your therapist
2. Stand barefoot on the grass
3. Scream into a pillow
4. Cry
5. Hug your pet
6. Smell your favorite scent
7. Wrap yourself in a blanket 
8. Eat some chocolate
9. Go for a brisk walk
10. Call a friend
11. Wash your face
12. Take a warm shower
13. Do a 5-minute HIIT routine
14. Text a therapist friend
15. Email your boss to ask for help
16. Make a priority list
17. Write a list of credits in a journal

Sources

• American Psychological Association. (2022). Psychologists struggle to meet demand amid mental health crisis.
  https://www.apa.org/pubs/reports/practitioner/2022-covid-psychologist-workload
• Batanda I. (2024). Prevalence of burnout among healthcare professionals: a survey at Fort Portal regional referral hospital. Npj mental health research, 3(1), 16. https://doi.org/10.1038/s44184-024-00061-2
• Barron, J. (2023). Therapists are burning out–Here’s why, what the impact is, and how to help. SimplePractice. https://www.simplepractice.com/blog/therapist-burnout-report/
• Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Marriage and Family Therapists.  https://www.bls.gov/ooh/community-and-social-service/marriage-and-family-therapists.htm (visited August 29, 2024).
• Cocker, F., & Joss, N. (2016). Compassion Fatigue among Healthcare, Emergency and Community Service Workers: A Systematic Review. International journal of environmental research and public health, 13(6), 618. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph13060618
• Kleespies, P. M., Van Orden, K. A., Bongar, B., Bridgeman, D., Bufka, L. F., Galper, D. I.,
  
• Hillbrand, M., & Yufit, R. I. (2011). Psychologist suicide: Incidence, impact, and suggestions for prevention, intervention, and postvention. Professional psychology, research and practice, 42(3), 244–251. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0022805
• Medscape. (2022). Burnout rates rising among psychiatrists. https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/968875
• National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. (2023). What burnout is and is not. https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/learning/publichealthburnoutprevention/module-2/outline.html
• Victor, S. E., Devendorf, A. R., Lewis, S. P., Rottenberg, J., Muehlenkamp, J. J., Stage, D. L., & Miller, R. H. (2022). Only Human: Mental-Health Difficulties Among Clinical, Counseling, and School Psychology Faculty and Trainees. Perspectives on psychological science : a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, 17(6), 1576–1590. https://doi.org/10.1177/17456916211071079
• Victor, S. E., Schleider, J. L., Ammerman, B. A., Bradford, D. E., Devendorf, A. R., Gruber, J., Gunaydin, L. A., Hallion, L. S., Kaufman, E. A., Lewis, S. P., & Stage, D. L. (2022). Leveraging the Strengths of Psychologists With Lived Experience of Psychopathology. Perspectives on psychological science : a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, 17(6), 1624–1632. https://doi.org/10.1177/17456916211072826

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