A Therapist's Guide to Personal & Prof. Well-Being

This book could be subtitled, “Physician Heal Thyself” or more appropriately, “Therapists Prevent Thine Own Illness”. Ellen K. Baker guides the reader through waters all helping professionals must navigate in preserving their own well-being and in fortifying themselves from the unrelenting tides of stress unique to mental health practitioners. If course work in self-care was under emphasized in formal training, therapists would be wise to make this one of their continuing education selections.

This helpful text is an outgrowth of Dr. Baker’s long-term interest in the health of caregivers and her widely respected self-care workshops. Caring for Ourselves is enriched by the wisdom of many well known practitioners Dr. Baker interviewed regarding their own conflict between nourishing themselves and helping others. Practical suggestions address the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of therapists as they balance personal and professional lives. Therapists will appreciate the sensitive discussion of their relationship needs as they more consciously participate in their own personal journey of self-care.

Educational Objectives

Upon completion of this course, the clinician will be able to:

• Have an increased understanding of the concept and value of therapist self-care
• Have an understanding of the foundational processes of therapist self-care
• Possess the information necessary to initiate a conscious program of personal and professional self-care
• Understand the benefits of journaling and the recommended mechanics of effective journaling
• Understand the concepts of therapist distress, impairment and burnout
• Appreciate the importance of therapist self-care across the life span
• Appreciate the importance of tending to mind, body and spirit
• Understand the personal and professional challenges to therapist self-care
• Understand the importance of connecting with other people in a personal and professional program of self-care

Syllabus / Course Instructions

• The Course consists of reading the selected book, successfully completing an online posttest and filling out a course evaluation.
• The book is not included. It must be purchased separately. We have supplied a link to Amazon.com for your convenience.
• Purchasing your course will give you access to both a printable copy of the test and an online version. Print the test to use as a companion as you read the book and answer the questions.
• You cannot exit the online test once you begin, so have your answers available.

Additional Resources On This Site for CE

• The Gift of Therapy
  by Irvin Yalom: 10 CE Credits
• Addiction and Grace
  by Gerald G. May, M.D.: 8 CE Credits
• Letters to a Young Therapist
  by Mary Pipher PhD: 6 CE Credits
• Boundaries: When to Say Yes and When to Say No
  by Henry Cloud and John Townsend: 12 CE Credits
• Authentic Happiness
  by Martin E. P. Seligman: 10 CE Credits

Additional Resources Not On This Site

• Study on Mild Therapist Burnout by David A. Renjilian (Marywood University) and Joanne Rybski (Fordham University http://home.epix.net/~renjilia/burnout_EPA2000.htm

Psychotherapists and their Families: The Effect of Clinical Practice on Individual and Family Dynamics & How to Prevent Therapists' Burnout and Impairment by Ofer Zur, Ph.D. http://www.drozur.com/therapistsfamilies.html

Bio: Ellen K. Baker

Ellen K. Baker, PhD, was the oldest of five children born into a post WWII, mid-west family. Interest in the self-care of helping professionals came early as her father and mother worked in veterinary medicine and she frequently heard the refrain, “a cow didn’t know what time of day it was when she had trouble calving”.

Dr. Baker is a psychologist in private practice in Washington DC. She was formerly on staff at the Veterans Administration Medical Centers of Washington, DC, and Palo Alto, California, and the Washington Women’s Medical Center. Dr. Baker has worked in psychodrama at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in Washington, DC. In collaboration with Lynn M. Hornyak, she was the coeditor of Experimental Therapies for Eating Disorders (1989). Dr. Baker has served in the governance of the Division of Independent Practice of the American Psychological Association (Division 42) and in the District of Columbia Psychological Association. Dr. Baker received her PhD from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1976.