How To Avoid Burnout As A Divorce Professional

Among divorce professionals, burnout is a very real thing. According to an article entitled “Do Not Make their Trauma Your Trauma: Coping with Burnout as a Family Law Attorney” in Family Court Review, 14 July 2015, Lisa Morgillo cites the following in her list of key points for Family Court:

• Burnout is a serious problem for family law attorneys.
• The unique nature of family law, centered on relationships and emotions, puts family law attorneys at a higher risk for experiencing the effects of secondary trauma than other areas of law.

The American Bar Association also has published many articles on the topic of burnout.  In one such article [https://www.americanbar.org/groups/young_lawyers/publications/tyl/topics/work-life/how-avoid-less-spectacular-burnout-your-law-practice/ ], burnout is defined as “an emotional, cognitive, and physical reaction to a prolonged negative stress. Where stress might make you feel worried, burnout makes you feel defeated or depressed.” And this is not limited to attorneys.  This includes any advisor or counselor/therapist with the daily involvement with individuals and couples in the divorce process.

Here Are 4 Exercises To Help With Burnout:

• Be Intentional About Periodically Shifting Your Focus – Take a break to clear your head and regenerate your enthusiasm.
• You’re Never Too Busy To Build Healthy Habits – You’re most likely always going to be busy, so don’t wait for things to slow down. Take care of you, focus on your strengths, your values, and create practices which allow you to be your best.  Strive for balance in your life.
• Look For Meaning In Your Work – Spend time doing things that are both meaningful to you and also the community or organization. What do you find fulfilling?  What gives you energy and purpose?
• Get A Coach Or Trainer – Someone who can help you shift your perspective so you can see different options to pursue to get your work-life back into balance, help you discover what it is that energizes you and gives you purpose.

But what happens if you’re still feeling burnout?  Sometimes the nature of the work is just plan stressful, overwhelming, and difficult.  All paths seem to lead to burnout. The better option may be to explore a new venue or different profession in which to apply your experience and your strengths. Where would someone value your experience but not subject you to the part of your job you find so grueling?

Maybe it’s time to leverage your experience to make a bigger difference for those going through divorce.  If you haven’t already considered it, perhaps it’s time to investigate adding divorce coach into your existing client offerings (or just going out on your own and doing it full time).  You won’t find a more fulfilling and satisfying career than helping people going through what is arguably the most painful and overwhelming experience that can happen to someone and providing them the support to find their own clarity, focus, and confidence to make the best decisions for themselves and their future.