Self-Care, Burnout, and Ethical Practice

Many counselors are practicing while emotionally exhausted, overextended, and disconnected from meaningful restoration. While self-care is often discussed as a personal responsibility or wellness add-on, it is rarely addressed as an ethical issue.  

This workshop reframes self-care as a core ethical obligation tied to competence, impairment, and the duty to protect clients from harm. Participants will explore the critical difference between recovery (getting functional enough to keep going) and restoration (regaining vitality, presence, and professional integrity). The training examines how chronic burnout, moral fatigue, and systemic pressures quietly erode ethical practice, even among highly skilled clinicians.  

Through discussion, reflection, and practical ethical framing, participants will be invited to assess their own level of functioning and consider how sustainable practice is not optional, but essential to ethical care. This workshop is grounded in counseling ethics codes and designed for clinicians seeking longevity, clarity, and alignment in their work. 

Objectives:

•  Identify ethical responsibilities related to impairment, competence, and professional functioning as outlined in counseling ethics codes.
• Distinguish between short-term recovery strategies and deeper restorative practices, and explain why this distinction matters ethically.
• Recognize signs of chronic exhaustion and burnout that may compromise ethical decision-making and quality of care.
• Examine how workplace culture and systemic pressures contribute to ethical risk through normalized overextension.
• Apply an ethical framework to self-care that prioritizes client safety, professional integrity, and long-term sustainability. 

About Andrea Gomez, LADC-MH:
Andrea Gomez is a licensed mental health and substance use counselor and the founder of AXG Services Inc., a private practice based in Oklahoma City. She holds a master’s degree in clinical psychology from Bond University in Australia and has more than 20 years of experience working in mental health, substance use treatment, and forensic and psychosocial evaluations.  

Andrea began her professional career in 2005 and has worked across a range of settings, including community mental health, treatment courts, program administration, and private practice. Her clinical and evaluative work includes psychotherapy, substance use assessments, Department of Transportation Substance Abuse Professional evaluations, DUI and ADSAC assessments, and specialized immigration-related psychosocial evaluations.  

Born in Bogotá, Colombia, Andrea has lived and studied in South America, Australia, Belgium, and Korea before establishing her home in the United States. She is fluent in English and Spanish and brings a strong multicultural and systems-informed perspective to her work, particularly when serving immigrant and justice-involved populations.  Andrea is known for her practical, ethically grounded approach and her ability to navigate complex systems while maintaining clarity, professionalism, and advocacy for those she serves.