Self-care for professionals is vital to the effectiveness of the services being provided. Helping
professionals may not consider their own needs, or they may be preoccupied with their responsibilities.
Helpers often mistakenly believe that they are invulnerable to fatigue, stress, frustration, and
depression. Often, they see the needs of others and feel the responsibility to lift them up, and in the
process forget about self-care. As helping professionals, we have learned that helpers need help,
encouragement, and support, too. This article was written to affirm that, for helping professionals,
proper self-care is both a responsibility and a necessity.