Stress Reduction Strategies for Health Care Professionals

The first step in managing stress and preventing burnout is identifying the causes. The healthcare profession is rife with stressors, including long work hours, high patient volumes, administrative tasks, and the pressure to provide quality care. Research shows that healthcare providers experience high-stress levels, with a prevalence rate of up to 80% (Shanafelt, Boone, Tan, Dyrbye, & West, 2018). Burnout is also prevalent among healthcare providers, with a prevalence rate of up to 54% (Shanafelt et al., 2018). The causes of burnout include a lack of control, work overload, and lack of social support.

Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy is a treatment strategy that involves moving one’s eyes in a particular pattern while processing traumatic and distressing memories, which are common in the healthcare field. This therapy is guided by the adaptive information processing model (Shapiro, 2001) and helps ground the person to the present moment and makes the memory less vivid and distressing.

Cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) is a type of therapy that helps individuals change negative thought patterns and behaviours. CBT effectively reduces stress and burnout among healthcare providers (Shanafelt et al., 2018). CBT can be done individually or in groups and incorporated into the workplace setting.