On the Alumni News Page of the site we run a full story with Grace Gengoux ('08, CCSP, Ph.D.), but here is the opening section of the story that discusses her recent book publication that's only more timely with the COVID-19 pandemic.
Amidst COVID-19, mental healthcare clinicians are experiencing what psychologist Grace Gengoux calls a “double effect:” They are experiencing universal personal struggles such as fear and financial struggles, “but then because of the nature of their work, they’re also bearing witness to and bearing the burdens of the mental health sequela of the pandemic,” Gengoux explains. People who were already isolated, anxious, or traumatized are feeling more so now.
As a result, “supporting mental healthcare clinicians is as important as ever before,” says Gengoux, a clinical associate professor at Stanford who earned her Ph.D. from UC Santa Barbara’s Department of Counseling, Clinical, and School Psychology in 2008. However, the well-being of mental health professionals “was already a serious concern,” she says. “There was already tremendous suffering and risk for burnout and serious mental health consequences that needed to be addressed.”
That’s why she and a team of Stanford psychiatrists and psychologists published a book that focuses on the mental health of mental healthcare professionals. Professional Well-Being: Enhancing Wellness Among Psychiatrists, Psychologists, and Mental Health Clinicians (American Psychiatric Association Publications) was released in April.