For substance Abuse Counselors Please?

Is burnout an issue in your profession?

If so, what are the reasons for it and how do you deal with it?

It's a very difficult profession with not many rewards, depending on how you personally define "rewards". I was in the substance abuse profession because I had a few issues back in the day myself and could relate to a lot of the issues my clients went through. I felt I was somewhat drawn in that particular direction and when I was working in that population, I felt very rewarded. I saw progress with my clients and I worked with heroin addicts, which maybe you know, the relapse rate for them is very high. That population tends to be about 30% successful in treatment. You can't take it personally when a client doesn't want to give it their all in treatment or they relapse, that is sometimes a part of their journey to sobriety. I think some counselors just get sick of trying so hard and they take it personally. They also just stop caring and look at their clients as numbers vs. individuals. I don't know. I just make sure that I am taking care of myself, mentally and physically, and discussed my cases with fellow counselors to make sure I was on the right track. The minute I stopped worrying if I was doing things right, I would think it would be time to look for a new job. Unfortunately, my job ended before that happened and now I can't get back into the field. I wish I could because that feeling of helping people is better than any drug I've tried.

I am a counsellor, although I don't specialise in substance abuse. In the UK every counsellor has to have monthly supervision with a more experienced counsellor, this is mainly to discuss cases but can also be used as a form of support. Also, if I felt I was close to 'burnout' I would enter therapy myself, and consider cutting down on my work load. Being a counsellor can be emotionally draining, but with adequate training and support, most counsellors can avoid burnout. Hope this helps.