In an article recently published in Practice Innovationsopens in new window, Jeffrey E. Barnett and Grace Homany address many commonly held misconceptions about self-care. They explore how these misconceptions lead many psychologists to misapply self-care, thereby harming psychologists and their clients alike.
Self-care is commonly framed as a selfish indulgence, such as an expensive spa treatment—something private and personal that psychologists should engage in by themselves. Many view the need to practice or discuss self-care as a sign of weakness, incompetence, or inadequate coping skills. Such thinking may result in psychologists avoiding self-care activities or even acknowledging a need for self-care.
Every psychologist—indeed, every person—is affected by the many challenges, demands, and stressors in their professional and personal lives. No one is impervious to the deleterious effects of stress. The practice of psychology, although very rewarding, can be quite emotionally demanding and stressful for psychologists, who may also have complex personal lives that are, at times, sources of additional stress. These professional and personal challenges and stresses interact with an additive effect, placing psychologists’ professional competence and effectiveness at risk should there be no relief from them.
The American Psychological Association’s (2017) ethics code makes it clear that all psychologists must monitor their emotional and physical functioning and take corrective action when needed, but as the authors of this article emphasize, an extensive literature highlights the impossibility of effectively complying with this directive. Conducting an objective self-assessment is difficult, and the greater the effects of stressors in a person’s life, the more inaccurate the person’s self-assessments of competence and functioning will be. The significant focus on independence and self-reliance in the profession of psychology is thus contradictory to the ethical ideals each psychologist strives to achieve.
In addition, psychologists frequently feel that they need to project an image of competence and effective functioning. These twin expectations of independence and strength conspire to create a situation in which it is quite difficult to engage in effective self-care on one’s own. Rather, psychologists need to help each other practice self-care.
The authors provide practical guidance for effective ongoing self-care practices that each psychologist can apply to help prevent professional competence problems and to thrive in their professional and personal lives. But the authors also underscore how limiting oneself to an independent approach to self-care places one at risk of burnout, vicarious trauma, and other problems. Psychologists must reconceptualize self-care as a communal activity that one engages in with others. A culture of self-care must be established and nourished so each psychologist can actively seek support from groups of caring colleagues, openly share their struggles, and provide feedback and support to others.
Self-care should be shifted from an individual’s responsibility to a communal effort. Once self-care is integrated into each psychologist’s professional identity, it can be a source of great strength and harnessed as an effective way of achieving the ethical ideals of the profession.
This article is in the Clinical Psychology topic area. View more articles in the Clinical Psychology topic area.