by Bianca Barnard
Over the last month, South Africans have grappled with the aftermath of natural disasters, from flooding in the Eastern Cape, a series of tornadoes in KwaZulu-Natal and a 2.5 magnitude earthquake in Johannesburg and the West Rand. These acts of God create a real and perceived sense of insecurity and instability in South African society, communities, and patients. Still, the impact on mental health practitioners is often forgotten.
Practitioners form part of the communities devastated by natural disasters. Unfortunately, registration as a mental health practitioner does not provide immunity to the psychological impact of the loss of safety and security and a gained sense of fear and anguish. As with a patient, there is a need to rebuild a sense of stability and safety by addressing basic needs and initiating the trauma recovery process. However, more intervention is often needed. Given the responsibility to care for others, mental health practitioners must attend to their own psychological health.
These periods of disaster create an increased demand for mental health services, longer working hours, and increased patient loads. This leaves practitioners susceptible to burnout and compassion fatigue. Psychologists also experience the secondary trauma of working with patients who have been victims of loss.
While the onus remains on mental health practitioners to prioritise their own mental health, it can be challenging. Some helpful tips on navigating these are as follows:
- Acknowledge your humanness and put in place professional boundaries. Where possible, take leave to give yourself sufficient time and space to address the material reality and process what has happened. Do not over-commit yourself or continually place the needs of others before your need for self-care.
- Try to limit working in a silo. Where possible and appropriate, utilise an MDT and share the load of patient management with colleagues. Connecting with peers, colleagues, and supervisors will also help mental health practitioners avoid feeling isolated, a feeling commonly experienced due to the private nature of our work.
- Use the source of support available to you – be that a supervisor, peer group, psychologist or faith group – to ground yourself and recreate a sense of stability.