In the hectic pace of being an early career psychologist (ECP) and junior faculty member, it is often more possible to extol the virtues of self-care rather than to authentically engage in it. In many cases, this challenge may partially stem from limited education and insufficient opportunity to develop effective self-care habits during doctoral training. Perhaps it is reasonable to consider that generating and maintaining self-care practices as a doctoral student and ECP faculty member are two sides of the same coin. In this article, I briefly review literature concerning stressors and potential benefits of self-care for ECP faculty and doctoral students in psychology and highlight barriers that may decrease the likelihood of self-care practice among these groups. I offer concrete strategies to incorporate in academic programs that have potential to increase productivity and well-being of ECP faculty and trainees simultaneously.

Early Career Psychology Faculty

Across the professional developmental trajectory, ECPs report more emotional exhaustion, less satisfaction with their career, and less engagement with self-care than mid- or late-career psychologists (Dorociak, Rupert, & Zahniser, 2017). Although these data are reflective of professional psychologists, similar experiences are encountered by ECPs in academia, who must develop and teach new courses, establish and fund a program of research, and manage multiple service and administrative commitments (Good, Keeley, Leder, Afful, & Stiegler-Balfour, 2013). There is evidence that academic psychologists are more stressed earlier in their careers, and on the whole, experience greater stress and less personal fulfillment from their work compared to licensed practitioners (Boice & Myers, 1987; Radeke & Mahoney, 2000; Watkins, 1992), although these phenomena have been understudied among ECPs.

In a health services psychology doctoral program, an ECP faculty member may simultaneously be in the process of integrating newly acquired roles such as licensed psychologist, clinical supervisor, and/or clinical training director. ECP faculty are also likely to be juggling additional responsibilities and life transitions, such as repaying student loans, entering a committed relationship, starting a family, relocating, settling into a home, and assuming responsibility for elderly or ill family members. Indeed, research indicates that among the greatest challenges encountered by ECP faculty is achieving a “balance” between academic and home demands (Good et al., 2013). To borrow loosely from Daniel Stern’s concept of “motherhood constellation” (Stern, 1995), the transition from doctoral trainee to an ECP faculty member thus involves a vulnerable and heightened state of negotiation and re-organization of identities, during which self-care is unlikely to be a priority.

Although there is a sizeable literature—and even a division within the American Psychological Association—devoted to pedagogical practices within psychology, which are essential to supporting instructional skills and professional development, there is less emphasis on self-care and its potential utility in addressing academic burnout and stress (Weimer, 2010). Exploratory research with faculty in a social work program revealed that whereas faculty members across academic rank did engage in multiple forms of self-care, assistant professors tended to engage in fewer self-care practices than associate and full professors (Miller, Grise-Owens, & Shalash, 2018), citing tenure-related stress and financial reasons as potential barriers. Of the various forms of self-care measured (i.e., professional support; professional development; life support; cognitive awareness, and daily balance), “daily balance” (Dorociak, Rupert, Bryant, & Zahniser, 2017) was least endorsed by participants (Miller et al., 2018). This finding underscores the idea that integrating small – but potentially influential – self-care practices within the workday is perceived as challenging and reinforces the notion that self-care is something to be done outside of the professional setting. This is problematic considering that junior faculty report working nearly 10 hours/day (Good et al., 2013), leaving little room for self-care afterwards. The combination of adjusting to institutional expectations and barriers of consistently integrating self-care can contribute to poor mental health and burnout among ECP faculty (Fowler, 2015; Lackritz, 2004) and potentially compromise their road to career advancement.

Psychology Doctoral Students

Not surprisingly, there are parallels between the challenges that an ECP faculty member and a doctoral student in psychology encounter in their roles. Doctoral students in health services psychology are a particularly vulnerable group given the challenge of managing coursework, clinical training, and personal demands while providing supervised therapeutic services in the community. Further, the sheer length of a doctoral program in psychology (five to seven years) exposes students to enduring several episodic and chronic stressful life events during the course of their training (i.e., health and relationship problems, illness/death of close family members, financial distress), which can interfere with or delay timely progression. Underrepresented students in psychology doctoral programs may additionally encounter unique barriers such as being disproportionately burdened in culturally or linguistically specific clinical settings (Verdinelli & Biever, 2009) and are less likely to seek counseling services (Cheng, Kwan, & Sevig, 2013), further justifying the need for programmatic support.

Compared to the literature on ECP faculty and self-care, there is more research available on this topic among psychology doctoral students. Whereas self-care is thought to aid in doctoral student stress reduction (Myers et al., 2012), a meta-analysis of 17 studies examining self-care among graduate students in psychology suggests that self-care is especially valuable in enhancing one’s sense of satisfaction and self-compassion (Colman et al., 2016). These practices are considered to support trainees’ productivity and well-being and to potentially reduce likelihood of professional burnout and dropout from the field (Myers et al., 2012; Zahniser, Rupert, & Dorociak, 2017). Of note, the aspects of self-care related to professional support (e.g., cultivating collegial relationships) and cognitive awareness (e.g., monitoring one’s own reactions) have been especially important in students’ well-being and training outcomes (Zahniser et al., 2017). However, psychology doctoral students, like ECP faculty, also struggle with implementing regular self-care practices, due to time limitations, stigma, and lack of encouragement to engage in self-care (El-Ghoroury, Galper, Sawaqdeh, & Bufka, 2012).

In sum, there is evidence that ECP faculty and doctoral students in psychology experience concerning levels of stress and possess limited practical training and knowledge about how to successfully integrate self-care practices in their personal and professional lives. Understandably, traditional conceptions of self-care may be incongruent with the varied schedules of doctoral students and ECP faculty. Additionally, the financial burden that many graduate students (as well as ECPs) carry may prohibit or reduce the likelihood and frequency of engaging in favored self-care activities (e.g., massage; vacations; going to a gym; dining out; attending music, art, and other cultural events; and self-improvement activities). An interpretation of the existing literature on self-care efficacy among ECP faculty and doctoral trainees in psychology suggests that implementing self-care “daily balance” activities within the workday may help target specific stressors in the academic and clinical environment, be less costly than “traditional” self-care, and enhance overall satisfaction and productivity in one’s role.

Multiple studies recommend implementing a culture of self-care at the programmatic level to socialize and model the importance of self-care practices for doctoral students in health service psychology (e.g., Zahniser et al., 2017; Burkhart, 2014). Examples of self-care focused programs offered in health service psychology training include topical workshops on self-care, a peer mentoring program for new students (Dittman, 2005), mindfulness training (Chlebak, James, Westwood, Gockel, Zumbo, & Shapiro, 2013) and Integral Life Practice interventions (Burkhart, 2014). Integrating such practices within the program can relay a powerful message to students about the value of self-care; at the same time, these measures require a relatively substantial commitment from graduate students and faculty. Because a majority of the aforementioned self-care programmatic efforts are optional, they could be viewed as an additional burden and may unintentionally exclude students who are in most need of self-care and support. Programs lacking the infrastructure to implement these programs may aspire to these practices and begin with simpler, intermediate steps that address the idea of “daily balance” (Dorociak, Rupert, & Zahniser, 2017). There are positive implications for ECP faculty (and likely, all program faculty and staff) if there is a concerted effort to normalize the ethical necessity of self-care in health services psychology.

Self-care Strategies

I am currently an ECP faculty member in a tenure-track position within the Clinical Psychology PsyD Program at the University of San Francisco. I joined the program one year after its conception, and thus, in addition to the usual demands of junior faculty, my colleagues and I have been significantly involved with program development and the APA accreditation process. Needless to say, self-care has traditionally been less publicly emphasized within our program, although we are striving toward more systematic practices as we progress in our development. In the meantime, it has been helpful—both for myself and for students in our program—when we can make self-care more attainable in the classroom, within our respective research efforts, and in mentoring relationships.

I provide suggestions for self-care based on strategies that I have consistently incorporated across teaching (Table 1), research (Table 2), and mentoring (Table 3) domains. While not comprehensive, these strategies are intentionally simple, meant to be mutually beneficial for faculty and students in supporting both parties’ self-care, and can be adapted based on individual program curricula and requirements. The strategies suggested for the teaching domain are perhaps most easily embedded on a regular basis, whereas the strategies for research and mentoring may take more planning or initial investment.

As the landscape of mental health services and training continues to diversify, professional and academic psychologists must find ways to keep pace and sustain themselves through increasing demands and limited resources. Self-care is an essential component of teaching, research, administrative service, and clinical work, and should not be considered an elusive afterthought, but rather acknowledged for its restorative potential to promote and elevate the efficacy of trainees, faculty, and practitioners alike.

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Dhara T. Meghani, Ph.D

Dhara T. Meghani, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor and licensed psychologist in the Clinical Psychology PsyD program within the School of Nursing and Health Professions at the University of San Francisco. Her teaching, clinical work, and research focus on infancy, parenting, and family relationships within diverse populations. Dhara founded Parentline in 2016, which is a free telehealth counseling services for expecting and new parents of children birth to three. Dhara is additionally interested in mentoring practices, training, and program development within health professions.