This presentation was given by Dr. LaRonda Starling for an audience of licensed Christian counselors, biblical counselors, and pastors at a conference. The presentation is based on the book Be Still: Spiritual Self-Care for Mental Health Professionals. Here is the book description: For counselors, psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, certified life coaches, other mental health professionals, case managers, and caregivers burnout may seem inevitable, but it doesn't have to be. Dr. LaRonda Starling offers respite for the weary with this Christ-centered, faith-focused guide to self-care for the soul. With real-life analogies and Bible verses as the basis, Be Still: Spiritual Self-Care for Mental Health Professionals covers topics such as knowing the characteristics of God, having alone time to pray, reflecting on the good in life, studying the Bible, learning to lovingly say no, and taking care of oneself. The end of each chapter includes questions designed to help the reader dig deeper and apply the concepts to their own life. If you are not a therapist, Christian counselor or caregiver, many people working in other fields who are interested in the Bible and mental health or who are experiencing compassion fatigue in their workplaces, have shared that they found the book to be something they are glad they read. So whether you are a therapist experiencing exhaustion or burnout (or wanting to avoid it), a therapist in training, a caregiver of any kind, or work in any of the helping professions (i.e., teacher, nurse, firefighter etc.) Be Still is the essential guide to finding and maintaining spiritual health and peace.

1. Be Still: Spiritual Self-Care
for the Helping Professional
LaRonda Starling, PhD, LPC-S
Licensed Clinical Psychologist
Licensed Professional Counselor Supervisor

2. Conflict of Interest
 Presenter is the author and
publisher of the book that this
presentation is based on titled:
Be Still: Spiritual Self-Care for
Mental Health Professionals

3. Objectives
occupational burnout and spiritual self-care
Defining
the differences between self-care for physical health versus spiritual health
Describing
spiritual self-care related to six main points
Articulating and
Discussing
biblical and empirical support for a self-care that is Jesus-centered
Providing

4. Why
Self-Care?

5. Occupational Burnout
 “Burn-out is a syndrome conceptualized as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not
been successfully managed. It is characterized by three dimensions: feelings of energy depletion
or exhaustion; increased mental distance from one’s job, or feelings of negativism or
cynicism related to one's job; and reduced professional efficacy.”
 Burn-out is defined in the 11th Revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) as
an “occupational phenomenon”:
 Not classified as a medical condition
(World Health Organization, 2019)

6. Occupational Burnout
 Symptoms
 Cynicism
 Fatigue
 Irritability
 Concentration Difficulties
 Declining Productivity
 Loss of Meaning and Purpose
(Mayo Clinic Staff, 2020; Sedhom, 2020)

7. Occupational Burnout
“In the same way, let your light shine
before others, so that they may see your
good works and give glory to your Father
who is in heaven.” Matthew 5:16
(ESV
)

8. Occupational Burnout

9. Self-Care

10. Physical Self-Care
 Running
 Cardio classes
 Knitting
 Reading
 Journaling
(Baker & Gabriel, 2021)
 Pilates
 Hiking
 Yoga
 Dog walking
 Horse riding

11. Why Spiritual
Self-Care?

12. The Body, The Soul, The Spirit
 “Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely. And may your whole spirit, soul, and
body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1
Thessalonians 5:23
 “and the dust returns to the earth as it once was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.”
Ecclesiastes 12:7
 “For the word of God is living and effective and sharper than any double-edged sword, penetrating as
far as the separation of soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It is able to judge the thoughts and
intentions of the heart.” Hebrews 4:12
(CSB)

13. Christ-Centered
Self-Care

14. Christ-Centered Self-Care
 Jesus – The Ultimate Servant
 Savior
 Miracle Worker
 Teacher
 Wonderful Counselor
 Healer
 Resting in Jesus
 “Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take up my yoke and learn
from me, because I am lowly and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy
and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30 (CSB)
 “all who labor and are heavy laden” (ESV)

15. Be Still and Know

16. Be Still and Know
 Psalm 46:10
 “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be
exalted in the earth!” (ESV)
 “Stop fighting, and know that I am God, exalted among the nations,
exalted on the earth.” (CSB)
 “Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I
will be exalted in the earth.” (NASB 1995)

17. Be Still and Know
 Sovereign
 Omnipresent
 Omniscient
 Consistent

18. Be Still and Know
I can be still because I know that God
is
___________________.

19. Be Still and Pray

20. Be Still and Pray
 ”But the news about him spread even more, and large crowds would come
together to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses. Yet he often withdrew
to deserted places and prayed.” Luke 5:15-16 (CSB)
 Additional Verses on Jesus Praying to God the Father
 Mark 1:32-35
 secluded in the early morning/still dark
 Matthew 14:23
 alone in the evening

21. Be Still and Pray
 Praying
 Frequently
 Alone
 With and for Others
 “Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth
about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for
them by My Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 18:19
(NASB 1995)
 “First of all, then, I urge that petitions, prayers,
intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for
everyone, for kings and all those who are in
authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in
all godliness and dignity. This is good, and it pleases
God our Savior,” 1 Timothy 2:1-3 (CSB)
 The Model Prayer

22. Be Still and Reflect

23. Be Still and Reflect
Thought Feeling Behavior
Cognitive Behavior Theory (Aaron Beck)

24. Be Still and Reflect
 “We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God,
and take every thought captive to obey Christ,” 2 Corinthians 10:5 (ESV)

25. Be Still and Reflect
 Reflection
 Godly Reflections
 “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is
just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if
there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think
about these things.” Philippians 4:8 (ESV)
 Wise Counsel

26. Be Still and Reflect
 Career Reflections
 Remembering Why
(Sedhom, 2020)

27. Be Still and Study

28. Be Still and Study
 “Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light on my path.” Psalm 119:105
(CSB)
 Making God’s Word Personal
 Memorizing God’s Word
 Reading and Understanding for Yourself

29. Be Still and Say No

30. Be Still and Say No
 The Importance of Boundaries
 Know Your Ratio

31. Be Still and Say No
 Lovingly Saying No
 Saying No to Persuasives
 Delegating
“Do everything in love.” 1 Corinthians 16:14 (CSB)
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” Galatians
5:22–23 (ESV)

32. Be Still and Take Care

33. Be Still and Take Care
 “Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you
and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself” 1 Corinthians
6:19 (NLT)
 Your Physical Health (eating, sleeping, doctor’s visits)
 Healthy Social Support Network

34. Spiritual Self-
Care in the
Literature

35. Self-Care in the Literature
 Therapist self-care
 Qualitative study
 All five participants reported:
 communicating with God for help in the therapy process (i.e.,
praying before a session, hearing God’s voice during sessions)
(Barton,
2020)

36. The Body, The Soul, The Spirit
 Oncologist on spirituality, medical care, and burnout
 Patients have a body and soul
 Focus on spiritual wounds of illness and evidence-based medicine
 Doctor’s callings and spirits
(Sedhom, 2020)

37. Self-Care in the Literature
 Self-Care Among Rural Hospital Nurses
 53.3% reported the following activities daily or almost daily:
 music
 spirituality and prayer
 healthy sleep
 healthy nutrition
 reading
(Lubinska-Welch et al., 2016)

38. Self-Care in the Literature
 Self-Care Among Rural Hospital Nurses
 At least 35.5% of respondents reported the following activities daily or almost
daily:
 affirmation
 song and dance daily
(Lubinska-Welch et al., 2016)

39. Group
Discussion

40. Be Still and Study
What is one of your favorite Bible verses?
What does it mean to you?
What is a verse that you can use to remind you of God’s
calling on your life as a mental health professional?

41. Baker, C., & Gabriel, L. (2021). Exploring how therapists engage in self-care in
times of personal distress. British Journal of Guidance & Counselling, 49(3), 435-
444.
Barton, H. (2020). An exploration of the experiences that counsellors have of
taking care of their own mental, emotional and spiritual well-being. Counselling
and Psychotherapy Research, 20(3), 516-524.
Christian Standard Bible. (2017). Holman Bible Publishers.
References

42. ESV- Scripture quotations marked ESV are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible,
English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing
ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. The
ESV text may not be quoted in any publication made available to the public
by a Creative Commons license. The ESV may not be translated in whole or
in part into any other language.
Lubinska-Welch, I., Pearson, T., Comer, L., & Metcalfe, S. E. (2016). Nurses as
instruments of healing: Self-care practices of nurses in a rural hospital setting.
Journal of Holistic Nursing, 34(3), 221–228.
https://doi.org/10.1177/0898010115602994
Mayo Clinic Staff. (2021, June 5). Job burnout: How to spot it and take action.
Mayo Clinic. https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/adult-health/in-
depth/burnout/art-20046642
References

43. Holy Bible, New Living Translation. (2015). Tyndale House Foundation. (Original work
published 1996)
Sedhom, R. (2020). Caring for the patient with cancer: Body and soul. Journal of
Pain and Symptom Management, 60(5), 1066-1069.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2020.05.008
Starling, L. (2019). Be still: Spiritual self-care for mental health professionals. Grace
Psychological Health Services, PLLC.
References

44. The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. (2016). Crossway, a Publishing Ministry
of Good News Publishers. (Original work published 2001)
World Health Organization. (2019, May 28). Burn-out an "occupational
phenomenon": International Classification of Diseases. World Health Organization.
https://www.who.int/news/item/28-05-2019-burn-out-an-occupational-
phenomenon-international-classification-of-diseases
References