Caring for Yourself as a Provider Who Suffers from Chronic Illness

A training specifically designed for professionals living with chronic illness is important because it recognizes that healthcare and helping professionals may be caring for others while simultaneously managing their own fluctuating health needs. Such training can help professionals identify early signs of burnout, understand the impact of chronic illness on energy, concentration, emotions, and work capacity, and develop realistic self-care and boundary-setting strategies. It can also reduce the pressure to “push through” symptoms or prioritize work at the expense of personal health. By learning to balance professional responsibilities with sustainable self-care, professionals can improve their well-being, maintain effectiveness, reduce burnout, and ultimately support a longer, healthier, and more sustainable career.

By the end of this presentation, participants will be able to:

1. Identify the signs and symptoms of burnout and understand how chronic illness can affect professional functioning.

2. Describe the impact of fluctuating health conditions on energy, concentration, emotions, and work capacity.

3. Develop practical self-care and boundary-setting strategies that support both health and professional responsibilities.

4. Apply strategies to promote sustainable work practices, reduce burnout, and support long-term career well-being.

Karen Helmes, LPC, ACS, is a licensed professional counselor, Approved Clinical Supervisor, educator, entrepreneur, and board leader with more than a decade of experience in behavioral health. She is the founder of Anam Cara Counseling and Supervision, an independent practice she established in 2022 and has grown through a network of professional affiliations and collaborations.

Karen's clinical work includes adolescents, young adults, individuals, couples, and families, with particular experience in youth mental health and eating disorders. Her approach draws on evidence-based practices including cognitive behavioral therapy, dialectical behavior therapy, trauma-informed care, solution-focused brief therapy, person-centered therapy, and acceptance and commitment therapy. In addition to direct clinical work, she supervises and mentors developing clinicians, helping them strengthen clinical judgment, ethical practice, case conceptualization, and professional confidence.

Her perspective is also shaped by teaching and professional leadership. Karen has taught General Psychology as an adjunct instructor at Salem County College and serves as a Board Director and Membership Chair of the New Jersey Association of Women Therapists. She holds professional counseling licenses in New Jersey and Virginia and the Approved Clinical Supervisor credential.

For broader professional and community audiences, Karen brings a practical clinician's perspective to conversations about adolescent mental health, eating disorders and the pressures facing young people, building trust and communication with adolescents, supporting families, and the importance of supervision and mentorship in developing the next generation of mental health professionals.