Emotional Stresses to Look Out for in Your Behavioral Health Professionals
Your behavioral health professionals are amazing. They touch so many lives daily, always putting the needs of others before their own.
Chances are, you think of them as superheroes around the office — and they certainly are — but they also have needs of their own. It’s important to keep a close watch on their emotional health, because they have a habit of putting themselves on the back burner, while they take care of everyone else.
Here’s a look at a few common emotional stresses felt by behavioral health professionals. Knowing what to look for can allow you to help them when they’re feeling the pressure of a rewarding, yet challenging job.
Compassion Fatigue
Behavioral health professionals are known for their seemingly endless supply of empathy. Therefore, when someone who always wears their heart on their sleeve suddenly seems disconnected, something is up. If you think about it, this makes sense. These people are only human, so there are limits to the amount of pain they can absorb from others.
Beyond a lack of compassion, some common signs of this condition include dreading treating patients and feeling guilty about it, chronic exhaustion, irritability, and feeling inadequate in their profession.
Work-Related Pressure
Serving as a behavioral health professional involves more than just treating patients. Other demands often include the stress of handling too many patients, dealing with front office issues — i.e., managing staff, billing issues, patient scheduling challenges — or the pressure of not treating enough patients to fill their day.
As an employer, you can help with this by talking to your behavioral health professionals to get to the root of their stress. When you find out what’s going on, you can step in and ease the burden, so they can focus on treating patients.
Professional Isolation
Working with patients all day is rewarding, but behavioral health professionals also need time to bond with their peers. The demanding nature of the job can take a toll, so it’s monumentally helpful to have someone to talk to who understands exactly what they’re going through. If you only have one behavioral health professional on staff, this could be an issue.
Help solve this issue by encouraging them to join a professional association and attend as many networking events as possible. Spending time with their peers and attending industry events will help expand their network, so they have more people to lean on. It will also allow them to learn and grow, allowing them to feel balanced and fulfilled.
Tension at Home
If your behavioral health professionals are going through a rough patch in their personal lives, it can be difficult for them to effectively treat patients. Check-in with them regularly, and if you discover — or even suspect — they’re having a tough time personally, find out what’s going on. They might need to talk to someone themselves or even take a step back for a while to resolve these issues, before treating patients again.
Choosing the best person for the job is crucial to the lasting success of your facility. To learn more about how we can help you find top behavioral health talent, contact us today at (513) 651-9500 or by email at [email protected].
