I'm an OT and I’m burnt out. What do I do now? 

Burnout in occupational therapy is a hot topic. Not because it’s a trendy topic, not because we think we should be talking about it but because it's real. It's happening now across the career span. Most weeks when I go onto social media, I read a post by an OT who is struggling in their role, balancing life and feeling burnt out, questioning whether OT is still the career for them. 

What is burnout?

It is the state of physical, mental and emotional exhaustion, and The World Health Organisation (WHO) describe it as an ‘occupational phenomenon’ found in the occupational context, it is not a medical or mental health condition.  It can result in physical, emotional or behaviour symptoms as described here by Mental Health UK.

Why does burnout happen in OT? 

OT's work in high pressure, high demand environments. The work we do is relational, with clients, carers and colleagues. OTs spend their days holding others emotions & challenges. We are naturally compassionate and empathetic, however, there is a limit to how much we can hold. 

We also hold many roles; clinical, colleague, line manager, project, or service lead. All before we look at life roles as a partner, parent, sibling, child, friend, carer, volunteer.... Burnout linked to the workplace does have an impact on life, burnout can be a collision of chronic stress impacting both work and home. 

Lynner et al (2025) identified that the experience of burnout varied for OTs but was clearly linked with excessive workloads. They go on to discuss how ‘job crafting’ supports therapists to reduce burnout and increase job satisfaction, essentially creating the ‘right balance and level of demand’ for the individual, just like we do for our clients. 

Occupational balance - What does that really mean? 

Many mistaken balance to look like a perfect weighing scale all equal with work and life all in sync. When in fact occupational balance is more about flow, the interplay between different roles and responsibilities. Responding to different needs and demands of our own and others around us. As OTs both in the workplace and at home, we are continuously adjusting, shifting, and changing the balance. I like to think of it like the Kawa Model, using the river as an example of how things change and shift, and that not all things can be seen and planned for but we can find our way around those obstacles. 

So how do I manage my work to avoid burnout? 

Starting with good supportive OT supervision is key. This provides a space to explore. work related pressures, expectations and boundaries. Share the relational challenges of the role and the impact that it has on you or the service you are delivering. Supervision can provide a safe space to share concerns, feelings of overwhelm, uncertainty, a space to recognise that things can and often do need to be adjusted. 

Also finding space to connect to yourself. your own regulation needs. Having a lunch break, stepping outside away from your desk. Many find that making space to do a brain dump helps you leave work at work & not take it home. 

It is also important that once out of work we reconnect to ourselves, we create some space in the diary for activities that are fun, enjoyable and help refill your own cup.

What if I need more support?

On occasions when more support is helpful, consider contacting your occupational health team or access to work schemes to arrange more formal support and seek reasonable adjustments in your workplace. Like Lynner et al (2025) state, burnout can reduce when we craft our roles and reduce demands.

If your local supervision is not giving you the freedom to offload, as you may have worries about opening up within your team and worry about how you will be perceived, then seek an external OT supervisor, for an impartial space to explore work related issues. If it helps you, seek out a counsellor, for a space that is truly yours to explore the impact on life. 

In every case, don’t be afraid to call it what it is. Burnout. There is no shame, it is common, and by discussing it we can address it and your organisation can help by looking at systemic and organisational changes where appropriate. 

Takeaway 

• Use your OT supervision sessions to discuss wellbeing and burnout on a regular basis
• Do NOT push through
• Identify your needs and challenges 
• Seek support in both work (occupational health / access to work / external supervision) and life (connect with others / seek counselling)
• Ask for help, tell others what you need, even at home, ask for help to take specific tasks off your list
• Create space for you, fill your own cup. Start with micro moments of pause to connect with your body and step out of your mind, if bigger moments feel too hard. Like connecting with nature, your breath, singing and dancing as if nobody is watching. Whatever feels right for you
• Know you're not alone

I have prepared a free PDF that supports wellbeing in supervision, feel free to download this and use as preparation for discussion in supervision or to explore in your supervision sessions. 

Also, if you want to find out more out the new Burn in Model created by OTs Rhiannon Crispe and Dr Michelle Luken for OTs then click here.

Written by Lynsay McFarlane-Shaw OT Supervisor / Independent Occupational Therapist 

Reference and Resources:

Burnout mental health uk: https://mentalhealth-uk.org/burnout/

Lynner, B., Stoa, R., Fisher, G., del Pozo, E., & Lizerbram, R. (2025). Feel the burn, heal the burn: Job crafting and burnout among occupational therapy professionals. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 79, 7901205080. https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2025.050731

The Burn in Model: https://www.burninnotout.com/the-burn-in-model

The Kawa Model: https://www.kawamodel.com/v1/about/

The World Health Organisation (WHO):

https://www.who.int/news/item/28-05-2019-burn-out-an-occupational-phenomenon-international-classification-of-diseases