When was the last time you asked for help? As a therapist, practice admin, or leader in the rehabilitation therapy field, it’s hard to balance patient needs and clinical processes with your own mental and emotional well-being. It’s no wonder that, more and more, rehabilitation and physical therapists are burning out.
If you’re not sure how to save yourself or your staff from the metaphorical flames, don’t worry. Help is here! The books listed below can provide a pathway for you to break cycles of stress, build a resilient team, and approach your work with renewed meaning.
For Practice Leadership
Owners, CEOs, and other leaders in rehabilitation therapy: This one’s for you! You play a crucial role in shaping the workplace culture and supporting your team’s well-being. The cost of burnout is high, so it’s especially important for decision-makers to have a thorough understanding of this issue. Learn how to lead and support a stressed-out workforce with the following books:
Mayo Clinic Strategies To Reduce Burnout: 12 Actions to Create the Ideal Workplace by Stephen Swensen, MD, MMM and Tait Shanafelt, MD
WHY? This book provides a roadmap to create an ideal workplace and prevent burnout by fostering a positive culture and reliable, patient-centered, and thoughtful systems.Burnout in Healthcare: A Guide to Addressing the Epidemic by Rajeev Kurapati MD, MBA
WHY? Find practical, actionable techniques for developing resilience at both the individual and organizational levels.Beating Burnout at Work: Why Teams Hold the Secret to Well-Being and Resilience by Paula Davis
WHY? This book uses wide-ranging examples to show how solving the burnout puzzle requires a systemic approach.
For Burnt-Out Therapists
For therapists who are accustomed to providing–rather than receiving–support and guidance, it can be difficult to know where to turn for help. We’ve got you. This list of books offers strategies for coping with burnout and regaining a sense of balance and fulfillment in your career:
Battling Healthcare Burnout: Learning to Love the Job You Have, While Creating the Job You Love by Thom Mayer, MD
WHY? This book empowers healthcare professionals to guide the culture and systems of their organization, by battling burnout from within.Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle by Emily Nagoski, PhD and Amelia Nagoski, DMA
WHY? With a focus on how burnout lives in the body, this book provides evidence, anecdotes, and worksheets designed for burnt-out women.Peak Performance: Elevate Your Game, Avoid Burnout, and Thrive with the New Science of Success by Brad Stulberg and Steve Magness
WHY? Coming from backgrounds in coaching Olympic athletes and writing for health and human science, the authors present advice to help individuals perform at their best.
“The key to strengthening your biceps – and, as we’ll learn, any muscle, be it physical, cognitive, or emotional – is balancing the right amount of stress with the right amount of rest. Stress + rest = growth. This equation holds true regardless of what it is that you’re trying to grow.”
– Stulberg and Magness, Peak Performance
For Self-Reflection and Insight
Providing life-changing care can be an incredibly rewarding experience, but it can also be emotionally draining. It’s so important to pause and reflect on your personal health and reconnect with your “why.” With that in mind, we’ve compiled a list of books that will inspire self-reflection and deepen your understanding of the profound impact of the healthcare field:
52-Week Mental Health Journal: Guided Prompts and Self-Reflection to Reduce Stress and Improve Wellbeing by Cynthia Catchings LCSW-S LCSW-C MSSW
WHY? This journal uses evidence-based mindfulness and cognitive behavioral therapy techniques, with daily prompts to improve your wellbeing.Being Mortal: Illness, Medicine and What Matters in the End by Atul Gawand
WHY? Suggested in r/PhysicalTherapy, this book reminds us how “the ultimate goal [in treating patients] is not a good death but a good life―all the way to the very end.”The Art of Being a Healing Presence: A Guide for Those in Caring Relationships by James E. Miller and Susan C. Cutshall
WHY? Your patients don’t just need by-the-book treatment; often, the rehabilitation profession requires a “healing presence.” Contained are 7 steps to help you provide comfort while caring for yourself.Breaking and Mending: A Doctor’s Story of Burnout and Recovery by Joanna Cannon
WHY? You’ll probably relate to this frank account of mental health from both sides of the doctor-patient divide. Cannon writes insightfully about the experience of “compassion fatigue.”
“We are expected to somehow absorb our feelings and our responses to life, to banish them far from the surface of who we seem to be, because their disappearance makes it so much easier for everyone else. In medicine, it’s seen as almost mandatory.”
– Joanna Cannon, Breaking and Mending
For Eclectic Readers
This one is a little different! For physical, occupational, and speech therapy professionals, there’s much to gain from exploring diverse fields like psychology, philosophy, or literature. The following books are sure to satisfy the curious reader. By broadening our perspectives and exploring new ideas, we can become more creative, innovative, and effective in our professions.
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry Into Values by Robert M. Pirsig
WHY? A Zen philosophy classic, this book about a summer road trip cuts to the core of what it means to live a good life. Anyone facing burnout will appreciate the call to slow down and focus on the bigger picture.Moonwalking with Einstein by Joshua Foer
WHY? Another r/PhysicalTherapy suggestion, this book would’ve come in handy during PT school. All about memory and memorization, these off-beat stories and useful tips will leave you excited for your next CE session.Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times by Katherine May
WHY? Taking lessons from literature, mythology, and the natural world, this New York Times bestseller guides readers to find rich meaning in periods of hardship.
Beyond the Bookshelf: Burnout and Rehabilitation Therapy
As you explore these resources, we encourage you to consider the following questions:
- What are the unique challenges you face in your profession, and how can you address them?
- How can you support your team members in preventing and addressing burnout?
- And how can you rediscover your passion and sense of purpose in your work?
Next time you’re feeling stressed, here’s our advice: Take a well-deserved break, pick up a book, and discover new ways to care for yourself, your patients, and your practice.
Do your eyes need a break? Listening to podcasts is another great way to learn about news and opportunities in the physical therapy and rehab field. Our favorite is, of course, Therapy Matters!