Deployment Psychology Blog

Taking a Closer Look at One’s Helping Hands

As mental health providers how often do we ask ourselves, “How am I doing?”  I imagine not often enough.  However, compassion fatigue or burnout can be experienced even by the most dedicated and insightful clinicians.  Our occupational responsibility is to offer a helping hand, but it's also our ethical responsibility to look at our hands for a quick assessment of their health. Are they cracked? Are they dry? Are there any scrapes or cuts? What needs to be done to better take care of them.

As 2012 is drawing to a close I find myself caught up in the usual holiday hustle-and-bustle. When I pull out my holiday cards, I am reminded that last year they read “Happy Holidays from San Diego & somewhere in the Western Pacific” – and I am thankful that this year my active-duty Navy husband is home to share in the festivities. We all know that separations are a part of military life, but holiday deployments can make this time of year particularly stressful for military families.