Allies in Recovery: Use and Overuse of Collateral Support

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By Max Guttman

Burnout exists among practitioners and caregivers for those carrying a mental health diagnosis. Our allies, collateral contacts, and both natural and artificial supports are all susceptible to burnout.

This presentation is designed to prevent and disrupt behaviors which contribute to burnout among people working with people with psychiatric disabilities. Burnout will be evaluated twofold. 1) caregiver burnout and 2) practitioner burnout. Examining it should help improve continuity of care and uninterrupted service delivery. I look at burnout in systems of care, family members, and organizations which provide mental health treatment.

This article follows the assumption that decreasing burnout among allies in recovery improves the quality of life of people carrying a mental health diagnosis.

Burnout is visceral

There are several stages of burnout. Each stage is visible to carers of, and people with, psychiatric disabilities. Burnout is a visceral sensation to the person experiencing it. It’s a product of inadequate self-care and self-awareness, tolerance of extreme exhaustion, repetition of behaviors and circumstances, and unfortunate turns in a person’s recovery.

Burnout is experienced in several ways by caregivers and practitioners. All allies in the recovery process can be victims of burnout but in most cases, it is very much preventable, through professional experience and access to psycho-education about the consumer or family member’s diagnosis.

In my recovery, I have observed burnout among my treatment team. It is painful to watch, especially because of knowing that I might have contributed to the problem. Some might term this self-awareness, but no such feelings should be experienced by consumers about professionals. This isn’t a question of depth of client insight into their own behaviors. Consumers should be able to focus on their own feelings without having to worry about the emotional state of their treatment team.

I am not suggesting abusing your staff, therapist or any other professional. But the focus of your treatment shouldn’t include the biases and insecurities of your workers. As a consumer, you need to use your focus, consideration, and insight to work on your own stuff.

Negative patterns

I have also observed burnout among family members and friends with a vested interest in my mental health treatment. I have seen friends abandon my journey, and walk away, because it was just too difficult. When unpacking the negative patterns that contribute to burnout among friends and family, it is important to consider age, maturity, education, and resources available to the ally to continue investing in their loved one or friend, who may not be able to produce them for themselves. People carrying a diagnosis may or may not be able to contribute in the same way their healthy counterparts do, in various areas of the social and interpersonal landscape, that allies journey on alongside their peers struggling with a diagnosis.

Simply put, healthy clinicians and healthy family members will provide better treatment and care to their loved ones. It is demoralizing for people carrying a diagnosis to work towards their recovery and feel as though they are a burden at the same time they are seeking out help.

Healthy workers are less likely to abuse or mistreat people carrying a mental health diagnosis or to take out their personal problems on vulnerable, institutionalized groups. The benefits are without bounds. Ultimately, it is the quality of life of people carrying the diagnosis that carer health is most critical in improving.

We can learn from the problem

Burnout is a temporary symptom. It may signal to some workers to seek work in another field. But the profession as a whole should learn from the problem. Without proper administration of treatment delivery, expecting positive outcomes in care is irrational. Hiring or retaining staff who have the skills to provide treatment without collapsing is unlikely without further research. Research should cover self-care practices and best practice in mental health care.

We need to continue researching, both from the peer perspective and through the professional lens, how we can prevent burnout. This will reduce clients experiencing harm from staff and family members who have had enough of caregiving due to an increase in uncontrolled symptoms or otherwise.

From mentalhealthaffairs.org