Self-Care Practices and the Professional Self

ABSTRACT

Consistently and actively engaging in self-care has been shown to improve the performance of mental health practitioners by reducing burnout, vicarious trauma, compassion fatigue, and other stress-related psychological problems. Not only is this important to the individual practitioner’s well-being, but ethical standards also mandate the recognition and remediation of any physical, mental, or emotional self-impairment to maintain high standards of care for clients. Professionals in small communities, like the Deaf community, however, confront unique challenges in attending to their self-care. This article investigates these challenges—as well as the rewards—experienced by Deaf and hearing counselors working in mental health care with deaf clients.

KEYWORDS:

• Deaf and hard of hearing
• Deaf culture
• identity and belonging
• lifelong learning
• mental health
• professionalism
• service providers
• strength-based perspective

Acknowledgment

Appreciation is given to Dr. Mary C. Hufnell who contributed to earlier dialogues that informed the content of this article.

Notes

¹Ironically, we often see ourselves as impervious to psychological stresses because we, after all, are the “authorities” in promoting psychological well-being in other people. However, substantial evidence indicates our vulnerability to psychological stress and illness is at least equal to that of the general population (e.g., Craig & Sprang, 2010; Lim, Kim, Kim, Yang, & Lee, 2010; Linley & Joseph, 2007; Richards, Campenni, & Muse-Burke, 2010).

²Audism refers to a “schema of audiocentric assumptions and attitudes that are used to rationalize differential stratification, supremacy, and hegemonic privilege” based on one’s ability to hear (Eckert & Rowley, 2013, p. 105). For a detailed description of how audism manifests in theory and practice, see Eckert and Rowley (2013).