Somatic Empathy: the key to preventing burnout.

People who work with traumatized people often develop symptoms themselves, such as anxiety, depression, irritability, sleeplessness, etc. How does this happen? I believe it is an unconscious process in which the client's symptoms are taken on by the practitioner. This often occurs because the practitioner wants to help the client get better. In so doing, the practitioner's need to "help" the client may unconsciously supercede the actual needs of the client. Burnout is very common in the helping professions. Research has shown that nurses, doctors, therapists and social workers…