Therapy for Medical Providers

You knew this job would be hard, but you never expected it to be like this. The days feel endless, and you’ve never cried this much over your job. Is there a light at the end of the tunnel? You believe it’s there…but perhaps you can’t see it yet?

Adrenaline seems to be all that is getting you through. On the one hand, you want to slow down and take a pause, but on the other, you aren’t sure what would happen if you do. What if you fall apart? You’re already struggling to keep all the emotions at bay.

You and your coworkers are trying to support each other but it’s not helping like it used to. You feel like all the care and compassion you have is slowly getting beaten out of you. You’re starting to feel numb. You’re not used to these levels of sadness, discouragement, and anguish.

You’ve always been a helper – in fact, you love it. You used to get such pride from it. So much joy. But now, some days you’re not sure that you’re even helping anymore. You’re doing everything you can for your patients, but it all feels hopelessly inadequate.

You’re used to caring for others and often forget to care for yourself. Even before the pandemic, you weren’t great at taking care of yourself. You help others. You aren’t used to asking for help. It’s just not your nature. You take care of others. It’s not just what you do, it’s who you are. You can’t imagine doing anything else, so why are there times you aren’t sure you want to do this job anymore?

You are incredibly grateful for your colleagues who are in the trenches with you every day. You wouldn’t be able to do this without them – they get what you’re going through. And you used to be able to talk to them about anything job-related… but why not this? Maybe you don’t want to put anything more on them. They’re already dealing with enough.

Home isn’t the haven it used to be either. You can’t quite be with your family the way you used to be. Plus, your spouse is stressed from you not being around as much and having to manage the kids all day. You don’t want to put anything more on them. You’re afraid of getting your family sick, and you don’t have access to your usual coping tools. You used to be able to leave it at the door, but now you simply aren’t able. And it’s starting to affect your relationships. You feel guilty when you’re not at home.

You give a piece of yourself to every person you care for, but you forget to keep some for yourself. You know you need to take better care of yourself, but that seems so hard to do right now, almost impossible. When you do get time off, all you want to do is sleep. You feel guilty not feeling like you want to spend time with your family.

You just want your life back. To feel like a real person again. You want to feel the joy and pride in your work that you used to feel. You want to smile a genuine smile, and not just smile so others will think you’re okay.

As the pandemic slows, it is possible that all the feelings you’ve been working so hard to keep at bay will start to surface. It is no shock that frontline medical workers are more susceptible to PTSD. There is higher risk for burnout, depression, and anxiety. Maybe you’re already there. But what do you do when all of this inevitably interferes with the focus, compassion, and energy that you need to do your job well?

Now is the time to get a handle on it. I can give you the space to admit you’re not doing okay, not even close. I can be your outlet for all that you’re going through so you don’t have to always carry it home or to work with you. I can help you find ways to get through this without feeling like you’re going crazy. We’ll do this through conversation—just talking—so you can unload your heavy burden. And I’ll offer specific strategies for managing stress, anxiety, and burnout in order to help you reconnect to the joy you used to feel for the job. I can help you reconnect with your loved ones, and I can help you learn how to treat yourself like the gift you are. You’ll learn to take care of yourself like you take care of everyone else.