Counselor Burn-Out
At some point in a counselor’s career, he or she will begin to feel the effects of compassion fatigue. What is important to understand from a counselor perspective is to be able to recognize the signs and symptom of compassion fatigue. By recogning the early warning signs, a counselor may be able plan in his or her life, and prevent becoming completely burned-out. The importance of self-care cannot be stressed enough.
ACA Code of Ethics and Compassion Fatigue
There are several references in the ACA guidelines that speak to impairment, and burn-out of counselors. Standard C.2.g. states that counselors monitor themselves for signs of impairment from their own physical, mental, or emotional problems and refrain from offering or providing professional services when impaired (ACA C.2.g., 2014). Also stated is that counselors must assist colleagues or supervisors in recognizing their own professional impairment and provide consultation and assistance when warranted with colleagues or supervisor showing signs of impairment and intervenes as appropriate to prevent imminent harm to clients (ACA C.2.g., 2014).
Scenario of an Impaired Counselor
A possible scenario of compassion fatigue displayed by the counselor would be if a client is displaying symptoms of suicide. It the counselor is dealing with stress,…show more content… Self-care and self-awareness. The use of self-care is not just when a counselor begins to feel the onset of burn-out, but should be incorporated into one’s lifestyle continuously. There are three major avenues of prevention include self-monitoring, obtaining supervision, and intervention and support of colleagues (Everall, and Paulson 2004). In the video Clinical mental health counseling: Counselor impairment, Dr. Rhonda Newswald-Potter, Ph.D, suggest that a counselor should seek to work at monitoring where they are functioning and track the that
