Has the Consumer Bankruptcy Bar Had Enough?

In September of 2011 I took an informal survey of National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorney (“NACBA”) members on professional burnout.  Through a post on the NACBA listserv discussion group I asked NACBA members to rate on a scale of 1 to 10 how burned out they had gotten from practice and what were the major contributing factors to their level of stress.  The response was fairly robust.

Stress and Burnout

Once I had reviewed the responses, I asked a leading San Diego clinical psychologist who asked that I not publish his name to review a summary of the responses and compare stress and burnout similarities between bankruptcy attorneys and mental health professionals.  After reviewing a summary of the NACBA responses and consulting the literature on the subject, he concluded that striking similarities exist between the two groups.  Both groups suffer from compassion fatigue.

Attorneys vs. Mental Health Professionals

For bankruptcy attorneys as well as mental health professionals (psychologists, social workers, marriage and family therapists, and psychiatric nurses) the stressors appear to be classified internally and externally.  Internal stressors can include those stressors that we place on ourselves with high expectations, feelings of isolation, stressed out by finances, working harder for our clients than they appear to be working for themselves.  Many times we really receive no thanks for our work, but on the bright side, sometimes we get paid!  Many times however, there is no feeling of gratitude or thankfulness.

Long Hours, Isolation etc.

External stressors can include long working hours, mostly spent in isolation from other professionals. Working nights and weekends when our clients, if they work, can come in. Dealing with governmental or corporate bureaucracies, and low pay for an advanced and expensive degree and training is very frustrating.  We also live in fear of lawsuits, client disasters and suicides, etc. Repeated and prolonged exposure to people who are in crisis and in pain can have a negative and cumulative effect on one’s own mental health and level of stress. We also have issues of client no-shows that affect income, time management, etc. The work environment can also cause stress and burnout. On top of clinical issues, many of us work in clinics, hospitals, crisis centers, etc. and all of these entities have their own set of rules, regulations and issues that need to be addressed.

The Stress Clients Feel is Contagious

If it could be boiled down, we have issues with our clientele themselves and the pain and crisis they present for treatment with. We have a multitude of red tape to deal with, with our licensing and regulatory agencies, insurance companies, and governmental regulations, etc.  Many of these issues just pile on top of each other and they begin to wear one down and the dreaded burnout can occur.

Raymond Schimmel is a San Diego bankruptcy attorney.

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Thanks to Maritess Ynclino for the image!