Professional Well-Being
Enhancing Wellness Among Psychiatrists, Psychologists, and Mental Health Clinicians
By (author) Grace Gengoux PhD BCBA-D, Sanno E. Zack PhD, Jennifer L. Derenne MD, Athena Robinson PhD, Laura B. Dunn MD, Laura Weiss Roberts MD MA
Publication date:
24 March 2020Length of book:
298 pagesPublisher
American Psychiatric Association PublishingISBN-13: 9781615373086
Although data exist to support the notion that physician self-care is correlated with patient care, the culture of medicine has traditionally valued the ideals of self-sacrifice and perfectionism -- often to the detriment of clinicians themselves.
Professional Well-Being: Enhancing Wellness Among Psychiatrists, Psychologists, and Mental Health Clinicians, the result of a collaboration by several psychologists and psychiatrists in the School of Medicine at Stanford University, posits a new culture, one that is supportive of the health and well-being of health care professionals and the patients and populations they serve.
The book's first section examines individual and systemic barriers to professional well-being, chronicling the unique challenges faced by health care providers at different stages of professional and personal development. Detailed case studies and vignettes illustrate effective methods for reducing burnout while also enhancing professional fulfillment. Thought-provoking discussion questions encourage readers to focus on implementation tactics applicable to their own health care practices.
Part II discusses personal resilience and realistic strategies -- from the mental and social to the physical -- to improve well-being. Specific exercises encourage mental health professionals to engage in pragmatic action for improved personal and professional well-being.
Throughout the book, a wealth of tables and figures illustrate important points. The inclusion of "positive practices" and recommended readings offers readers the opportunity to integrate what they have learned and to expand their study.
Patients benefit when treated by clinicians who value and model self-care. Professional Well-Being outlines for mental health care providers, including psychiatrists, psychologists, mental health clinicians, and trainees, how to become such a professional.
Professional Wellbeing is a very timely and well written book that should be on the shelves of all psychiatrists, psychologists and other mental health clinicians as a constant reminder that we all have to look after ourselves if we are to properly look after our patients. Written by a team of experts from Stanford University, the book resounds with a combination of academic expertize and comprehensive referencing, practical advice, compelling clinical vignettes, well chosen illustrations and useful self-help tips and techniques. Each chapter stands alone, with a broad focus on the importance of wellbeing in professional practice in the first half of the book, followed by a description of practical and positive approaches to well-being and self-care in the second section. Importantly mindfulness, sleep, physical health, social connections and meaningful professional contributions are highlighted as key underpinnings of the professional lives of all mental health clinicians. This is the practical guide we need for our personal wellbeing.