The counselors and therapists at Sanford Behavioral Health in Bemidji, Minnesota, are used to caring for the mental health needs of their patients.
But who takes care of the caregivers? That question led to a new position filled by Nikki Bowman, a licensed marriage and family therapist, and the employee wellness counselor at Sanford Bemidji.
“The origins really came from just having experience, as a clinician, of the emotional impact and toll that the work has on us,” said Anna Chock, clinical manager of outpatient services for Sanford Bemidji behavioral health.
Chock applied for the grant that led to Bowman’s hiring. To her, the idea made perfect sense.
“We know that (therapy) matters in our work with clients. Why is it different for ourselves?” Chock said. “What would it be like if we had a therapist for our therapists, and make it as synonymous as an athletic trainer for a football team?”
Addressing staff burnout
Since her hiring in July of 2023, Bowman has helped numerous Sanford employees during difficult situations. Whether it be her fellow therapists needing someone to talk to, a staff member dealing with work or personal stresses, or medical staff dealing with traumatic experiences such as the death of a patient, Bowman is available for anonymous care at no cost to them.
“Normally staff would have to go through an employee assistance program, which would get you a handful of sessions. Then you’d have to do a diagnostic assessment and a treatment plan,” said Bowman. “This is unique in that it doesn’t cost anything, there’s not a limit on sessions, and there’s absolutely no diagnosis or paperwork involved. That can be a barrier for some of the medical health staff.”
Getting help is an important step for many medical professionals, who face some of the highest burnout rates of any professional industry. According to the American Medical Association, more than 48% of all physicians in the country are suffering from at least one form of burnout. That rate is actually down significantly from the pandemic years.
In addition, the Journal for the American Medical Association recently published a study showing that suicide rates among health care workers were higher than those of other professions. Women working in health care, in particular, were at higher risk of suicide than other women simply because of their careers.
“People in our field tend to go to school for longer than they actually stay in the field because of burnout and secondary trauma,” Bowman said. “So if we could keep our people healthy, that means they’ll stay in the career that they wanted to be in, and also patient outcomes might be better. If we’re healthy, we’re more able to give to our patients and the people that we see.”
Counselors get a checkup
Mindy Broden works alongside Bowman as a behavioral counselor in Bemidji. Broden specializes in treatment for patients with substance abuse issues, suicidal thoughts and mental health disorders. Despite her expertise though, Broden recently sought out Bowman after an incident with a patient.
“They were in a hyper arousal state and in a severe panic attack,” said Broden. “No matter what I did, all of the therapy skills and tools that I used, I could not get the patient to come back into the window of tolerance. I ended up having to seek medical help for the patient, and I was with the patient very late into the night. I couldn’t sleep that evening.”
Broden said she had trouble focusing the next day, and the events of the previous night were affecting the way she was treating her patients. So she stopped into Bowman’s office for a visit.
“I really didn’t even know why this particular case impacted me so drastically,” Broden said. “When it comes to traumatic experience, it’s not so much what has happened, it’s what we believe about ourselves in it.
“I think in this particular case, it evoked a sense of helplessness inside of me. And so that was probably the biggest piece of it, is that I felt helpless to help this patient. I think that it was more of a personal thing, but it was triggered and brought forth by this situation with a patient.”
Her short session with Bowman gave her the answers she needed.
“What I realized is that I did get the patient help. And so that was the most important piece of all of it,” Broden said.
Bowman says stories like Broden’s happen all the time, and she wants her colleagues in mental health to know she’s available for everyone.
“A lot of what mental health therapists need is just a space to allow themselves to be the client, be the patient,” Bowman said. “There’s a lot of pressure that I notice from mental health therapists that they’re not allowed to feel, they’re not allowed to struggle. The truth is, we take on a lot in these jobs.”
Beyond Bemidji
Bowman says her work with Sanford staff members is not the same as long-term therapy. In fact, many of the issues her patients are dealing with can be improved upon relatively quickly.
“Sometimes people just need a session or two just to kind of talk through things and they go, ‘Oh, OK, that makes sense.’ And it does click,” Bowman said.
She does see some patients regularly too. She also travels to regional clinics in Park Rapids and Bagley, Minnesota, and is available for staff members throughout the Bemidji region.
The next step may very well be expanding the program. For folks like Anna Chock and Mindy Broden, who have seen Bowman in action, there is a strong belief that the work happening in Bemidji can translate across the organization.
“This is a huge resource not just to behavioral health, but to the entire system as a whole,” Broden said.
“It’s a domino effect. It all matters. It’s all the way down,” Chock said. “This benefits everybody. It’s not just the employee, it’s also leadership, and therefore patients.”
Learn more
- Choosing the right behavioral health care provider
- Mental health leader makes patients’ lives easier, safer
- AMA honors Sanford Health’s employee well-being efforts
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Posted In Behavioral Health, Bemidji, People & Culture, Workplace Health
