The Resilient Practitioner: Burnout Prevention and Self-Care Strategies for Counselors, Therapists, Teachers, and Health Professionals [Paperback]

Thomas M. Skovholt (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 17, 2000 | ISBN-10: 020530611X | ISBN-13: 978-0205306114 | Edition: 1

This title focuses on the work of practitioners in counseling, therapy, teaching, and the health professions. These are all "high-touch" practitioner fields where the quality of the interaction with the client/student/patient is the key to success. To do the work well requires an optimal balance between "other-care" and "self-care." How does one acquire this balance? This book explores elements of this question by describing the joys and hazards of the work, the long road from novice to senior practitioner, the essence of burnout, ways to maintain the professional and personal self, methods experts use to maintain vitality, and, finally, a self-care action plan. Written for counselors, therapists or those in the health professions.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

This title focuses on the work of practitioners in counseling, therapy, teaching, and the health professions.

These are all "high-touch" practitioner fields where the quality of the interaction with the client/student/patient is the key to success. To do the work well requires an optimal balance between "other-care" and "self-care." How does one acquire this balance? This book explores elements of this question by describing the joys and hazards of the work, the long road from novice to senior practitioner, the essence of burnout, ways to maintain the professional and personal self, methods experts use to maintain vitality, and, finally, a self-care action plan.

Written for counselors, therapists or those in the health professions.

Product Details

• Paperback: 230 pages
• Publisher: Allyn & Bacon; 1 edition (December 17, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 020530611X
• ISBN-13: 978-0205306114
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #266,567 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Resilient Practitioner, June 7, 2007

By 

Maria H. Blake "Pastor Marleen" (Sydney, Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Resilient Practitioner: Burnout Prevention and Self-Care Strategies for Counselors, Therapists, Teachers, and Health Professionals (Paperback)

This book is indeed practical in its application and theoretical enough to be able to us it as a text book for students. I recommend it for professionals and students who are in any type of helping industry in order to be informed of the very real risks involved to one's own health and welfare when giving so much of ourselves to others. This book is sorely needed in the areas of church ministry where there is a great emphasis on helping our fellow man but often pastors and lay workers are burnt out through lack of know how and knowledge to care for themselves because of the high demands of their congregations. Although not intended by the author to be used as a religious text as such it has invaluable insight which corelates to the 'other' types of caring that is done in community life.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Understanding compassion fatigue, September 26, 2005

By 

healingconceptsllc "promoting well-being in e... (Philadelphia, PA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Resilient Practitioner: Burnout Prevention and Self-Care Strategies for Counselors, Therapists, Teachers, and Health Professionals (Paperback)

As a social worker and educator, I highly recommend this fantastic book. The author clearly explains the many ways in which helpers are at risk for compassion fatigue and burnout due to the intensity of their work lives. He also provides many useful tips for preventing burnout. This is a very infomative and practical resource. I use it frequently to inform my own teaching of compassion fatigue, vicarious traumatization, and burnout issues.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Greatly Reduces Anxiety in New Professionals, March 22, 2006

By 

Sally (GROVE CITY, Panama) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Resilient Practitioner: Burnout Prevention and Self-Care Strategies for Counselors, Therapists, Teachers, and Health Professionals (Paperback)

I found this book to greatly reduce my anxiety as it addressed all of my worries and other issues that were leading me towards burnout. It also has clear indications that it will continue to be useful as I move further into my career. This is a book I plan to read again and again.