This document discusses the importance of self-care for counselors and mental health professionals. It notes that while these professions are rewarding, they can also be emotionally and physically draining due to built-in stressors. It recommends that counselors perform a "work life self-care audit" by asking themselves 5 questions about where they spend their time at work, whether they take breaks to eat without interruptions, socialize with coworkers they enjoy, leave work to break up their routine, and hold meetings in more relaxing locations. Taking the answers into account can help counselors make small adjustments to their work routines to better care for themselves.

1. Stress Relief
for Counselors
Work Life Audit

2. As counselors you advise
self-care, but with the
built-in stressors of the
profession, it’s prudent to
consider how you are doing
with your own self-care.

3. Working in the mental
health profession has its
challenges and rewards,
but it can also be draining,
emotionally and physically.

4. It’s rewarding work,
but you are painfully
aware of the emotional
drain it can be.

5. It is difficult, even for
the most experienced
mental health providers,
not to “take work home.”

6. The lack of feedback can
be frustrating—not seeing
the results of your labor,
uncertainty whether you’re
making a difference in the
lives of your clients.

7. Do you agree with the following statement?
“To maintain a healthy sense of wellbeing,
counselors need to cultivate a lifestyle
with which you learn to manage stress,
make healthy decisions, and incorporate
behaviors that invite balanced living
on a daily basis.” —G. Miller, Learning the Language of Addiction Counseling
www.wiley.com/buy/9781118721773
If you agree, read on. We’d like to help with that.

8. As mental health care
professionals you are most
likely well-versed in
mind, body, spirit care:
the importance of taking
time to rest, exercising,
and eating healthy.

9. It is also possible to apply
these self-care concepts to
work life, not just after-hours.

10. Here’s a simple way
to start: perform a
work life self-care audit.
Ask yourself 5 questions…

11. Where do I spend time at
work, and is that space
comfortable for me
physically, emotionally,
psychologically, and
spiritually?
1

12. Do I take time to
eat a meal, and if I do,
is it without interruption?2

13. Do I visit
(in person, phone, e-mail)
with people whom I work
with that I like?3

14. Do I leave work to do
something to break up
the routine (walk, receive
a massage, shop)?4

15. Can meetings be held
in a different location
that still invites
professional behavior
but is more relaxing?
5

16. Taking into consideration
your answers to those
questions, try to make
small adjustments to
work towards your own
self-care plan.

17. Work Life Stress Relief
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