When the Clinician Struggles: Breaking the Silence Around Mental Health in Healthcare Providers
By Tannia Salazar, APRN | Rooted in Serenity Behavioral Health LLC
In healthcare, we’re trained to show up composed, prepared, and steady—for patients, for families, for institutions. But what happens when the provider is the one struggling?
Mental health stigma in healthcare settings is real—and it often prevents clinicians from seeking the very help we encourage others to pursue.
The Hidden Challenge Among Us
An article published in Psychiatric Times describes the experience well: many clinicians live in fear that acknowledging their own anxiety, depression, or trauma will be seen as unprofessional, or worse, unsafe to practice.
Even though we work in mental health, the unspoken message is often: “You should know better. You’re supposed to be the expert.”
In reality, clinicians are not immune to stress, burnout, or emotional hardship. If anything, we’re at higher risk.
According to a 2023 study published in the Journal of Psychiatric Research via PubMed Central, mental illness stigma affects both patients and providers—often leading to internalized shame, delayed help-seeking, and increased distress. In other words: the stigma we fight against in our patients often lives inside us, too.
Why Clinician Struggles Often Go Unspoken
Several reasons make this topic hard to address:
Fear of judgment or professional consequences
Worry about licensure or reporting requirements
Internalized pressure to be “stronger than this”
Lack of safe, stigma-free spaces to open up
It’s a complicated bind. Many providers are excellent at helping others—but when it comes to our own vulnerability, we freeze, hide, or minimize.
What I Believe as a Provider (and a Human Being)
As the founder of Rooted in Serenity Behavioral Health—and as someone who lives with high-functioning anxiety—I believe it’s time we stop pretending mental health challenges disqualify us from giving good care.
In fact, lived experience often deepens our empathy, improves our insight, and reminds us of what’s at stake. The provider who gets it—not just clinically, but personally—can hold space in a profoundly meaningful way.
What Needs to Change (and How You Can Help)
Reducing stigma among providers requires both systemic and personal shifts:
Institutions that allow space for recovery, without punishment
Peer communities that normalize vulnerability
Patients and families who understand that being human doesn’t make us less qualified—it makes us more relatable
Why This Matters
Destigmatizing mental health—especially within healthcare—isn’t just about supporting providers. It’s about improving care for everyone. When we normalize conversations about emotional well-being, we create systems that are safer, more compassionate, and more sustainable—for clinicians and the people they serve.
For Anyone Reading This
If you’re a provider and you’re struggling: you’re not alone. You’re not weak. You’re not broken. You’re allowed to ask for help—even if your job is helping others.
If you’re a client and you’ve ever felt let down by a provider’s silence, distance, or discomfort, I invite you to hold compassion for what might be unspoken. And I also affirm your right to receive care that feels grounded, safe, and transparent.
Mental health care should be humanizing—on both sides of the conversation. The more we name the struggle, the more we create space for real connection and healing.
Let’s keep talking about it!
✍️ More information about the author
📗 Blog
💚 Services
❓FAQ
🌿 Tannia Salazar, APRN is the founder of Rooted in Serenity Behavioral Health LLC, offering telepsychiatry services across Connecticut for adults navigating anxiety, ADHD, trauma, and more.
