If you have a friend or family member with borderline personality disorder (BPD), you know the stress of this difficult problem. And you may be at a loss for how you can respond helpfully. Borderline personality disorder (BPD) involves emotional instability, interpersonal difficulties, and impulsive, often self-destructive, behaviours. People with BPD experience intense emotions and often distrust themselves and others, … Read More

Enduring the many waves of the pandemic as a therapist has been a perfect recipe for compassion fatigue and burnout. We have lived through the exact same situation as our clients over the past two years – isolation, being down and out with COVID, sick family members and friends – all while trying to navigate how we feel about the … Read More

While anyone can experience burnout, compassion fatigue, and vicarious trauma, professional helpers who work in the health care and social services fields are more susceptible than the general population. Helping others as a career can be rewarding, but it can also come at an unspoken cost. Defining Our Terms Burnout Burnout is exactly what it sounds like. People get “burned … Read More

Andrew was tired. Tired of how much effort even the smallest tasks took, tired of feeling inadequate, tired of the aches and pains in his body, and tired of well-intentioned friends and family saying things like, “You just have to think positively and count your blessings” or “You have so much going for you, why are you so sad?” Most … Read More

My name is Elaine, and I’m an overachiever. If there were a support group for helpers who give too much to those in their care, I would be the first to sign up. In my previous life as a nurse, a volunteer, and in my various roles as a busy homeschooling mom, teacher, wife, friend, helper, counsellor, etc., I have … Read More

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is often a private struggle. Kids, youths, and adults alike may not feel comfortable sharing their intrusive thoughts and compulsions. I can speak to this experience firsthand; my child was diagnosed with OCD at 4 years old. My first role is as a mom, and my second is as a psychologist. What I have learned through my … Read More

In this climate of overwhelming discourse regarding burnout, workplace harassment, discrimination, and employee engagement, I have frequently been asked about what creates and sustains a psychologically safe workplace. Although workplaces can provide employees with meaning, purpose, and connection, they can also be stressful environments that negatively impact our mental health. We spend more waking hours at work than anywhere else, … Read More

We all experience emotions that dictate how we see and understand others and how they see and understand us. In turn, this plays a part in how we form opinions about the world around us and each other. Strong emotions sometimes create angst in our lives, which can inadvertently be felt by those around us. Recently I have felt the … Read More

“I’m sick of being sick; sick of being tired; sick of being alone. I’m sick of COVID-19!” This is how a conversation with my recently widowed mother began prior to the holidays. Many of us can relate to her frustrated declaration because the pandemic has affected us all. It’s hard enough on its own, but for those already struggling with … Read More

As counsellors and helpers, we know about vicarious trauma and burnout all too well. This is because many of us walk alongside folks who have experienced very painful things, including emotional and psychological abuse and/or physical and sexual violations and violence. I used to hear and read about self-care strategies early in my career, but they often didn’t resonate with … Read More