Caring for Ourselves: A Therapist's Guide to Personal and Professional Well-Being

Ellen Baker addresses a topic that is vitally important to therapists, offering a positive approach to enjoying their chosen profession, being the best they can be at it, and tackling or preventing burnout. A skillful group facilitator, Dr. Baker leads the journey towards self-awareness and self-care among psychology professionals, a group that is characteristically attuned to caring for others. This thought-provoking book demonstrates a way to balance personal and professional lives by tending physical, emotional, and spiritual needs, and the need to feel connected. Filled with an assortment of observations by therapists who share their own challenges and triumphs in their self-care journey, the book examines the conflicts and deterrents to self care that can often lead to distress, impairment, or burnout. Readers are also invited to participate in journaling exercises that systematically peel through the layers of this complex issue by individually exploring topics ranging from exercise and body image to vicarious traumatization, coping, replenishing and seeking personal therapy. This invaluable book offers therapists a positive, proactive approach to enjoying one's chosen profession and being the best they can be at it.