In this episode, Stacey Steele, R.Psych., takes on five of the most persistent and clinically consequential myths about burnout in the helping professions and replaces them with what the research actually shows. Drawing on recent empirical literature and honest personal experience, this episode reframes burnout as a nervous system and systemic response, not a personal failing.

Stacey distinguishes burnout from secondary traumatic stress, compassion fatigue, moral injury, and depression, and makes the case that sustainability in clinical practice requires both individual restoration and structural accountability.

Tools mentioned in the episode

The PHQ-9 and the Professional Quality of Life (ProQOL) survey for formal tracking. The Greenspace Health platform for outcome data. The Bearable app for symptom and lifest ...