There have been so many mental health professionals who have come forth speaking of their being burned out by the droves of clients that they have to see on a weekly basis, even more so since the upheaval in our world over these past two years. These comments are coming mostly from those praticing in larger group practices that are contained univerity-hospital systems. I wanted to get some feedback from my mental health colleagues on their true feelings, yet, sadly I only received some non-informative emogis with thumbs up, along with one brave hypnotist colleage of mine stating that he loved his work, but not all of his clients. I can only hope that those who read the article took the time to actually answer the questions below for themselves to maybe rethink how they want to move forward in their practices in a more fulfilling manner.
For those in mental health, most especially psychologists:
Do You Enjoy Working with Your Patients?
Often when we start on a career path, we are working under the guidance of others who are further along than we. During these times we find ourselves working with all sorts of individuals learning the best practices to be used with each patient type as we go along.
Have you ever asked yourself what percentage of patients do you actually enjoying working?
Are you finding it difficult to sit there during some of your patients’ sessions being totally present?
Or maybe you were working with a patient who just could not seem to hear what you were saying, never applying any of the insights or techniques that you discussed together, leaving you frustrated to no end.
I was reading an article written by a now ex-pyschologist who left the field because he was sick of working with patients who were uninvested in doing the work, or were so ill that there was never going to be any resolution to their problems. I found this to be very sad. Because, he had knowledge and skills that could be helpful to many other people. People with whom he could enjoy working. It sounded like a matter of being totally burned out and so the decision was made to move onto some other career.
Given all the years of study and all the years of practice that one puts in to be where you are currently, it would be ashame to toss that all aside when one only needs a different lens from which to percieve one’s options.
How about making a choice to only work with those types of patients that you find fun and interesting to work with.
I had a colleague years ago who found working with those with bipolar to be most interesting because they were willing to go off their medications to get that natural ‘high’ feeling when they became hypomanic or even manic. This even when the great majority of them spent the majority of their existence with depression which of course is a hard state to live through.
So, I bet there are certain types of clients that you just love working with because they are engaged and willing to do whatever it takes to overcome their challenges.
Or, maybe there are some types of mental health conditions that you find interesting and fun to work with. Ask yourself:
Who are those people in your practice that make you smile when you think of them?
Is it the particular issues that they bring in to be worked on?
Is it their age and/or maturity?
Is it the fact that they just have a great personality?
Maybe they have an interesting set of circumstances to be worked on?
Or maybe like a colleague of mine, you find the patients with a particular mental illness to be interesting to work with.
Maybe it is time for you to go out on your own and choose those types of patients that you truly enjoy working with, instead of being forced to work with those that you find annoying, boring, or just plain disengaged.
Because, the reality of the situation is that there are tons of people out there these days who need all sorts of help, looking for exactly the type of person with whom you love working.
Take a stand for these people with your marketing materials so that you can attract just those people and you will find that many much better patients will be looking to employ you for your services.
Let me know how you feel about the work that you are doing below. Are you enjoying your patients or are you feeling that it is time to make a change?
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For many years, I have noted how ineffective most of the work that conventionally trained mental health professionals do, along with the great amount of time many of my clients have spent with these therapists. Some have spent decades to learn why they have the problem, yet never having any real resolution, any real healing, never truly moving on to a better quaility of life. Which is why I entered the world of the hypnotic arts in the first place – because there had to be a more holistic and humane manner of helping our clients with emotional distress live fulfilled and contented lives. Using a paradigm of true healing vs one of pathology. And, I am so glad I did, because it was with this change in perspective that I have been able to help over a thousand clients over the past 2 decades to achieve their goals – at least 95% of them anyway. I can’t help someone heal who is not ready to do the work. Trust me that I do my best to screen these folks out before hiring them as clients – something that I learned the hard way as most of us do.
For the practitioner to allow for any real healing to occur, we need to hold the belief that our clients do have the ability to heal, to move on from working with us to having great lives themselves. And, when we do that, miracles of healing are witnessed, which is a most beautiful thing to behold!
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Suzanne Kellner-Zinck founded Dawning Visions Hypnosis in 2002, She has become an innovator in the use of hypnotism and neuro-linguistic programming in the areas of obsessive compulsive disorders such as: eating disorders, sexual addiction and substance abuse as well as working with those with anxiety and mood disorders.
Her clients have come to work with her from across the United States and as far away as Africa to help them to finally be freed from these emotional issues that once ruled their lives. Today she is in the process of bringing her work to many more in the form of ebooks and other downloadable formats.
She is a member of American Holistic Medical Association and the American College for Advancement in Medicine.
Prior to founding Dawning Visions Hypnosis, Kellner-Zinck worked within vendor programs for the mentally ill working to help them to live up to their fullest potential. Many of her previous clients were able to move out on their own and find fulfilling work.
Kellner-Zinck is a Certified Trainer of Hypnosis and Neuro-Linguistic programing through Tad James Company, Inc. and a Master Hypnotist and Master Practitioner of Neuro-Linguistic Programming through Advanced Neuro Dynamics. She holds a bachelor’s degree in education and political studies from Curry College.
Dawning Visions Hypnosis is teaching people that they can indeed leave their unwanted behaviors behind as they move forward to living fulfilling and joy filled lives.
