Mitigating Rehabilitation Counselor Trainee Stress and Burnout Through Self-Care Initiatives in Rehabilitation Counseling Programs

Background: While rehabilitation counseling programs often stress the importance of self-care strategies, which are considered as being both ethically and personally imperative, the integration of direct instruction around these strategies has often been eclipsed by the academic demands of rehabilitation counselor education programs (Tarrasch, 2015), leaving new rehabilitation counselors with the added responsibility of exploring, identifying, and practicing these self-care activities during a time of transition and steep learning curves. Purpose: This article reviews the literature surrounding the multilayered phenomena of counselor stress and burnout, with particular attention to the field of rehabilitation counseling; it then recommends a new paradigm shift for incorporating self-care into rehabilitation counseling programs, specifically in the areas of programmatic interventions, classroom curriculum and techniques, practicum and internship supervision, and professional identity and postgraduation. The article also discusses applying self-care strategies in individualized and culturally sensitive ways. Conclusion: It is time to formally integrate self-care training and planning into rehabilitation counselor education programs. Ultimately, the trainee-centered self-care initiatives will positively impact future rehabilitation counselors, the clients they serve, the agencies they work for, and the rehabilitation counseling profession as a whole.