Licensed professional counselors have reported experiencing burnout and emotional exhaustion due to high workplace demands, a problem that has intensified over the past six years. On top of their workplace pressures, mental health professionals also sometimes reported feelings of confusion and conflict when separating their role as therapists from their interpersonal relationships, leading to them feeling even more burned out.
In a new study from The University of Texas at Arlington, "'Taking off the therapist hat': Boundary setting as self-advocacy for mental health providers," Department of Communication Senior Lecturer Damla Ricks and Associate Professor Grace Brannon investigated how licensed professional counselors navigate boundary setting in their everyday lives.
The researchers found that while professional counselors understand the importance of setting boundaries because they often recommend it to clients, they can find it difficult to set those same boundaries in their own lives.
Ricks, who is also a licensed professional counselor in Texas, said it is surprising to see that even therapists can struggle with boundary setting.
"The most interesting discovery was seeing how therapists will stop having a relationship with someone because conversations become less friendly and those friends come to them more in a therapist role," Ricks said. "As therapists, we should be asking ourselves how we would talk to a client through this, but even that gets tiring. It's really hard because of how easily the lines blur between being a therapist and just someone else."
The researchers spoke with 20 licensed professional counselors and analyzed the data using communication accommodation theory.
Dr. Brannon said they were interested in learning how therapists applied the principles of the theory, particularly by under- or over-accommodating conversations based on how they believed friends or family members would respond.
"When we think about how we're going to communicate with others, often times we choose certain strategies based on past experiences," Brannon said. "Maybe we think the person we have to speak to won't like what we have to say, so we increase social distancing with that person to avoid having to talk about a difficult subject."
The researchers found that professional counselors were both under- and over-accommodating others in their everyday lives, and this was leading them to experience negative outcomes and feelings, like friendships ending and high levels of work-induced stress.
In their study, Ricks and Brannon provided three recommendations that can help therapists feel less burnout and maintain a positive work-life balance: systemic change in mental health organizations to allow therapists to "recharge" between clients; therapists prioritizing self-care routines; and theapists engaging in clear communication that sets proper boundaries in close interpersonal relationships.
"As a licensed counselor, the ways this research has helped me is recognizing when there is too much going on and realizing I probably shouldn't have dinner plans after a long day at work," Ricks said. "It is a continuous challenge, especially if I want to keep doing all the things I enjoy and my work, but just having the perspective of setting that boundary has been helpful."
About The University of Texas at Arlington (UTA)
The University of Texas at Arlington is a growing public research university in the heart of Dallas-Fort Worth. With a student body of over 42,700, UTA is the second-largest institution in the University of Texas System, offering more than 180 undergraduate and graduate degree programs. Recognized as a Carnegie R-1 university, UTA stands among the nation's top 5% of institutions for research activity. UTA and its 300,000 alumni generate an annual economic impact of $28.8 billion for the state. The University has received the Innovation and Economic Prosperity designation from the Association of Public and Land Grant Universities and has earned recognition for its focus on student access and success, considered key drivers to economic growth and social progress for North Texas and beyond.
