6 emotional care strategies for psychotherapists

The work of psychotherapists is quite hard, tiring and above all loaded with varied emotions that are expressed within the consultation. For these reasons it is important to take care of yourself emotionally. Each therapist has different rituals to download all this content, but there are some that do not, especially those who take their first steps.

Ideally, you should be able to identify when you are beginning to experience burnout due to this emotional flow caused by interaction with patients. Don't worry, it's nothing weird; in fact, it is something very common in psychotherapists who do not change their routine and stay in constant contact with their patients without breaks or vacations. To have this phenomenon regulated, it is desirable to resort to self-regulation and emotional care strategies, which involve maintaining a balance in what each psychotherapist feels after seeing several patients in a day, a week or a month continuously.

• Related article: "8 tips for beginning psychologists"

Some emotional care strategies for psychotherapists

I will give you some examples of emotional self-regulation strategies that you can use as anchors or small "rituals".

1. Use emotional journal

A powerful tool that you can use every day is the emotional journal. In it you can write how you have felt, what emotions you experienced in each session and how you have faced them or how you would like to do it. This tool is very useful for those who have a taste for writing or drawing.

2. Positive Memories Notebook

Positive thoughts are powerful, but they are more so when they are accompanied by images, especially if they are from an experience that evokes sensations and feelings of love, gratitude, joy, etc. You can prepare a notebook full of these memories and go to it when you feel this type of emotional conflict.

3. A break between sessions

When we are in the middle of a session we often go into a state of alert, especially if our patient goes into crisis. The sympathetic nervous system, in charge of survival, is activated in these cases to be able to regulate the situation. Surely you have felt it; you have become nervous or nervous and have no idea what to do or say. For this reason at the end of the session, I recommend drinking a little water and taking a break for 10 to 15 minutes before receiving the next patient. This will allow time for your nervous system to return to its normal state.

4. Mindfulness or mindfulness

Mindfulness practice is very powerful. Perform it at least 3 times a week, at the time you have available, will help you to be more aware of your emotions and to regulate them. Also, I recommend several related practices: Vipassana Meditation, Tonglen or Metta bhavana.

• You may be interested: "What is Mindfulness? The 7 answers to your questions"

5. Seek supervision

When we serve a variety of patients, conflicting emotions lose therapeutic precision. It is very helpful to seek supervision with trusted colleagues, with whom you can share your concerns, feelings, concerns, and feelings about your patients. In this way we will be preventing being subjected by the accumulated conflicting emotional flow.

6. Bet on leisure activities

It sounds trite, but doing activities that are not related to your clinical practice is a of the best strategies to take care of your emotional regulation and, of course, your health in general. Going for a morning run, taking walks in places that make you feel comfortable, partying with friends or family, going to the movies, Singing, going to dance or zumba practices, going to the gym frequently or doing art, among many other activities, serves as help.

The important thing is that you carry out activities that generate positive, rewarding and uplifting feelings and emotions for your life.