Episode #124: Burnout – A Conversation with Jasmine Yepez

It’s May, and it can be a time when a lot of stress and overwhelm can be occurring. How do you know when you’re headed toward burnout? What do you do?

Jasmine Yepez, The ABA Lady, is passionate about burnout and mental health advocacy for professionals and shares with me today her journey to healing after experiencing burnout. Burnout can be caused by a variety of things, like unhealthy boundaries with work. Are you consistently bringing work home with you? Checking your email during your time off? It can also be caused by a work environment that perpetuates negativity or overwork. Do they not help you set boundaries? Do they require work out of the office or during time off? Do they set unreasonable expectations? Whether it’s one or a combination, if you’re starting to feel burnout symptoms, you need to make some changes.

Jasmine was in a position where she needed to take a break from the field. You may also feel that it is necessary, or you might feel that with additional steps, you can work through the burnout. 

Work through and heal burnout:

1. Seek support: talk with a trusted supervisor, friend, or family member.
2. Seek therapy: ACT, or Cognitive Behavior Therapy can be especially helpful.
3. Learn about burnout: find books, podcasts, and social media accounts that can guide your journey.
4. Pursue personal identity: Dive into a passion project (like Jasmine with wedding planning!) or spend time doing hobbies you love outside of work.

If you’re new to the field or coming back from a break due to mental health, what can you do to ensure your employer has a positive culture that won’t lead to burnout? Jasmine shares some great questions and considerations for interviewing that can help you find the right employer.

• What are the leaders like? Do they foster collaboration and communication throughout the WHOLE team?
• What is the work life balance? Ask for actual policies and expectations!
• What is the PTO policy? Is time off REALLY time off? Are you expected to make up for billable hours?
• What is the turnover rate? A position with high turnover may not be a place with a positive environment.

As you head into a busy and often stressful season, put yourself first! Have the care, compassion, and patience you would have for your clients for yourself as well! It is okay to take care of yourself, and it is always okay to question your job; there may even be ways you can use your certification that you haven’t even considered yet!

#autism #speechtherapy

Today’s Guest:

Jasmine has been a BCBA since 2019. She has experience working as a behavior technician and BCBA in an in-home autism waiver program as well as in a private clinic. She served as a clinical director before leaving and opening her own wedding planning business in 2022. Her interests include toileting, alternative and augmentative communication, and compassionate RBT and supervisee training. Jasmine is very passionate about burnout care and prevention and is an advocate for BCBA and RBT mental health. Jasmine posts about behavior analytic topics for those working in behavior analysis and special education on her Instagram (and soon to be blog), The ABA Lady (@theabalady on Instagram). She lives in Northwest Arkansas with her husband, three cats, and 15-year-old chihuahua. Jasmine will soon be opening a consulting business offering toilet training services.

What’s Inside:

• Burnout care and prevention.
• Burnout symptoms, what to look for?
• Mental health advocacy for ABA professionals.
• How to heal from burnout.
• Questions to ask to ensure a positive work culture from future employers.

Mentioned In This Episode

—@TheABALady on Instagram
—Get Your Free Autism Toolbox

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