The New Social Worker Vol. 19, No. 4, Fall 2012 | Page 9

In the intervening 37 years, burnout
has been the focus of several studies, each
of which has affirmed the phenomenon
(van der Vennet, 2002). We may instinctively realize that therapeutic work is
“grueling and demanding” with “moderate depression, mild anxiety, emotional
exhaustion, and disrupted relationships”
as some of its frequent, yet common, effects (Norcross, 2000). We may even have
gotten used to some of the factors promoting burnout such as “inadequate supervision and mentorship, glamorized expectations...and acute performance anxiety”
(Skovholt, Grier, & Hanson, 2001). Yet, as
social workers, we may still not pay full attention to the reality of burnout until suddenly everything seems overwhelming. At
such times, we may lack the knowledge of
what is transpiring or the critical faculties
to assess our experience objectively that
would enable us to take proper measures
to restore balance to our lives.

To explore and understand the
phenomenon of burnout before it is too
late, researchers have found it useful to
introduce several components of the term
or attendant syndromes, specifically compassion fatigue, vicarious trauma, and secondary traumatic stress. Although there is
a great deal of overlap among these terms,
each of them poses a particular risk and
originates from a different place in the
practitioner’s experience or psychology.

Compassion Fatigue

Compassion fatigue is perhaps
the most general term of the three and
describes “the overall experience of
emotional and physical fatigue that social
service professionals experience due to
chronic use of empathy when treating
patients who are suffering in some way”
(Newell & MacNeil, 2010). There is evidence that compassion fatigue increases
when a social worker sees that a client
is not “getting better” (Corcoran, 1987).
Yet, a large part of compassion fatigue is
built directly into the fabric of the kind
of work we do. Although we may strive
for a relationship with our clients that is
collaborative, our goal is not a relationship that is reciprocal. In many important
ways, reciprocity is unethical, even illegal.
Although recognizing this fact can lead
to an important setting of boundaries,
including financial boundaries (charging
clients, collecting co-pays), or deciding
how missed appointments are handled,
compassion fatigue may reflect a deeper

“inability to say no,” one of the hazards
that “can exacerbate the difficult nature
of the work” (Skovholt, Grier, & Hanson,
2001).

In our work, although we are surrounded by people all day long, there is
not a balanced give and take. Concentration is on clients, not ourselves. In the truest sense, we are alone—we are the givers,
and our fulfillment comes from seeing the
growth, hope, and new direction in those
with whom we are privileged to work.
The fulfillment of our professional commitment demands that we ever do our
best and give as much as possible in the
ethical ways that are the underpinnings
of the social work profession. With this
awareness, common sense predicts that
burnout is a potential threat waiting for
us in the wings. However, as we all know,
common sense and clear thinking can be
eroded when our own unfinished emotional business propels us. Although there
are many therapists who describe fulfilling
childhoods that are secure and stable,
research indicates that the majority who
come into our field have known profound
pain and loss during their formative years
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