Prioritising Mental Health in Wildlife Rehabilitation: A Crucial Conversation

Marleen Verhoeven, a clinical psychologist who also dedicates her evenings to rescuing birds at Hunua Bird Life in South Auckland, recently shed light on a critical, yet often unacknowledged, aspect of wildlife rehabilitation: mental fatigue and burnout. As she highlighted, this topic is often seen as "the dark side" of the industry, causing shame and not being a "hot topic," but it's vitally important to discuss it to protect ourselves and one another from burnout.

The Unseen Struggle: Why Mental Health in Rehab Matters

The wildlife rehabilitation industry, much like other demanding professions, experiences a high rate of burnout. Marleen drew parallels with the veterinary profession, where burnout rates are notoriously high, and suicides among vets are consistently in the top five across professions due to factors like access to medication and high stress. While rehabbers may not face the exact same pressures, they share many occupational stressors: long working hours, high workloads, poor work-life balance, financial strain, and even online personal attacks.

Understanding the Many Faces of Mental Fatigue

Marleen emphasised that mental fatigue isn't a single concept; it manifests in several distinct ways:

• Burnout: This occurs when individuals working at their peak suddenly find they can no longer cope. It's often triggered by events like conflict, online harassment, or increased workload (e.g., due to an influenza outbreak), leading to negativity and cynicism.

• Moral Injury: This arises when you're involved in events that conflict with your core beliefs. In rehab, this can involve dilemmas such as the place of domestic birds, euthanasia decisions (especially when the science isn't fully understood), or keeping permanently wounded animals. Mass poisonings of wildlife can also contribute to moral injury.

• Compassion Fatigue (also known as Vicarious Traumatisation): This is a state of hyper-emotional involvement where you begin to feel the animal's pain and distress. Without proper self-protection, it can become overwhelming, leaving you "wounded" if the animal suffers or doesn't recover.

• Anxiety: This can be situation-specific or a general state of discomfort. A significant contributor in rehab is imposter syndrome, where individuals, often not formally trained as vets or nurses, question if their best efforts are "good enough". This can generate anxiety, leading to less functional responses.

• Depression: Often stemming from a feeling of "not doing enough" given the overwhelming need and limited resources (time, skill, money), depression can significantly impact one's life if it persists. It can even lead to suicidal ideation, making seeking help crucial.

• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): This results from single or successive traumatic events. Working in rehab can expose individuals to a series of traumatic experiences, where later triggers can cause overwhelming emotional distress, negative thoughts about oneself or the world, and hyper-vigilance.

  
  

The Cycle of Why We Start and Why We Stop

People are drawn to wildlife rehabilitation by strong motivations like compassion, personal values, the enjoyable and fulfilling nature of the work, and the expectation that working with wildlife can be relaxing. However, the reasons for stopping are equally potent: feeling unable to do enough, making mistakes (imposter syndrome), tiredness, financial struggles, and feeling unappreciated.

Research suggests that the average "lifespan" for someone in rehab is about four to five years, as individuals discover the reality isn't as "glorious" as they initially thought.

Startling Statistics and Negative Impacts

A UK study involving 107 rehabbers revealed that a staggering 86% reported struggling with their mental health. The most commonly cited issues were depression, anxiety, and PTSD. While pre-existing conditions were not fully explored in this research, some individuals might enter bird rehab believing it's easier than social interactions, only to burn out quickly.

The study also identified the primary negative impacts on rehabbers, from most to least:

• Lack of work-life balance

• The general public and their responses

• Lack of sleep

• Social media (derogatory or unforgiving comments, misinformation)

• Certain animal cases that pull at heartstrings

• Personal financial worries

• Critical or judgmental attitudes from other animal agencies

• Bullying at work

• Lack of support within the team or work environment

  
  

Verbal, online, and even physical harassment were also reported at surprisingly high rates.

Building Mental Resilience: Strategies for Self-Protection

Marleen provided several invaluable strategies for fostering mental resilience:

Understanding the "Drama Triangle"

In conflict situations, be aware of the dynamic where you might shift between:

• Hero: Starting with a desire to do good and be wonderful.

• Victim: Feeling unsupported or unappreciated.

• Villain: Becoming irritable or treating colleagues poorly. Recognising this cycle is the first step to counteracting it.

  
  

Personal Resilience Strategies

• Empathy: With yourself and others.

• Non-judgment: Towards yourself and others.

• Mindfulness and Joy: Actively seek joy in your work every day.

• Self-awareness and Awareness of Others.

• Assertive Boundaries: Knowing your limits and communicating them effectively.

• Compassion: For yourself and for fellow community members. Marleen observed significant compassion and respect within the rehab community, which is crucial for mental health.

  
  

The Stress Container Model

Imagine a container unique to each person, filled with stressors like social isolation, financial problems, and illness. To manage this, you need a "tap" of helpful coping strategies (e.g., routines, meditation, focusing on what you can control) to release the pressure. Be aware of unhelpful coping strategies (e.g., alcohol, lack of exercise, constant news checking) that can exacerbate stress.

Self-Help Strategies

• Firm Boundaries: Define how many birds you can take, your opening hours, and whether you require appointments.

• Prioritise Breaks: Take holidays and ensure contingency plans are in place for emergencies.

• Financial Viability: Sometimes, hard boundaries like limiting the number of birds taken in are necessary to remain financially viable.

  
  

Resilience Within the Work Environment

For staff and volunteers:

• Non-judgmental Approach: Maintain a supportive environment.

• Check-ins and Positive Feedback: Regularly connect with staff and offer praise.

• Utilise Strengths: Recognise and leverage what each volunteer brings.

• Notice and Name Stress: Address signs of stress directly and openly discuss burnout.

• Collaborate on Challenges: Work together as a team to strategise and handle issues like internet bullying to strengthen the team.

  
  

Essential Resources for Support

Marleen highlighted several valuable resources:

·        Take Action - https://www.vetlife.org.uk/

·        Wildlife Care Academy -  https://wildlifeacademy.org/lms-learner/mental-health 

·        AVMA Reputation management tool kit - https://www.avma.org/resources-tools/practice-management/reputation

As the conversation concluded, it was clear that acknowledging and caring for the carer is a vital, if previously under-discussed, part of the wildlife rehabilitation journey.

This article is based on a presentation given by Marleen Verhoeven, a clinical psychologist, at the WReNNZ 2025 Conference.  Marleen's presentation is in the WReNNZ Member's Library.