February 17, 2026, from 1:00 – 2:30 pm

Dr. Gomez challenges the belief that burnout and secondary trauma are personal weaknesses. He explains that secondary trauma functions like a psychological virus, while burnout represents a compromised emotional immune system. Everyone in helping professions will experience both, often at the same time, and the goal is not to avoid emotional reactions but to normalize them. According to Dr. Gomez, the visible impact of trauma work is not a sign of failure but evidence that a professional cares, engages, and remains human in the face of suffering.

Dr. Gomez critiques common workplace solutions such as yoga, bubble baths, or extra days off after a traumatic case. These activities are not harmful, but they are not enough to address long-term damage. The problem is not the job or the act of helping others, but the system surrounding the work, including heavy paperwork, policies, bureaucracy, and expectations that employees must manage their emotional health entirely on their own. Research shows that traditional self-care often adds a new task onto an already overwhelmed professional, which can make burnout worse instead of better. He encourages a shift away from “suck it up” culture and toward approaches rooted in connection, shared responsibility, and authentic human support. Real resilience comes from community, meaning, and honest conversations rather than silence or isolation.

Learning Objectives:

·        Explore why traditional self-care approaches often fail professionals who work in high-stress, trauma-exposed environments.

·        Recognize self-care starts with good intentions and how difficult helping professions can be.

·        Understand the concept has lost meaning and has shifted into something unrealistic that often leaves workers feeling like they are doing self-care wrong or not doing enough.

Presented by:

Michael Gomez, Ph.D., has held multiple positions in the field of mental health.  His most recent academic position was as clinical faculty at Bradley Hospital, Lifespan Institute, one of the teaching hospitals for the Warren Alpert Medical School at Brown University where he was awarded the Henrietta L. Leonard Award for Excellence in Teaching in the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.  Dr. Gomez was also previously director of the Adversity and Resilience Community Center (ARCC) and the Center for Superheroes, a child trauma behavioral health clinic in the West Texas area.  Dr. Gomez has held adjunct professor posts at Texas Tech University Psychological Sciences; the Texas Tech University College of Education; and the TTUHSC School of Nursing.  He was also previously faculty at the Center on Child Abuse and Neglect/Child Study Center Department of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics at the OU Health and Sciences Center in Oklahoma City.  He is a licensed clinical psychologist in the states of Texas and Rhode Island and actively sees patients in both states.

Dr. Gomez specializes in the field of trauma.  He works and researches this topic in all its myriad forms such as:  Child abuse and neglect, disaster impact (Dr. Gomez was on ground for one of the last F5’s to hit the United States), sexual trafficking, secondary trauma and burnout for providers, trauma resulting from immigration and refugee experiences, PTSD in veterans, systemic racism, etc., etc.  He is one of the three founders of the National Child Traumatic Stress Network’s (NCTSN) Trauma and Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) Workgroup (formerly the NCTSN Trauma and Autism Spectrum Disorders Community of Practice).  He was part of a World Health Organization (WHO) trauma initiative for the National Mental Health system in the country of Swaziland (now named Eswatini) for children orphaned by the HIV epidemic and the staff who provide care for them.  He is also part of the film team at the Center for the Treatment of Complex/Developmental Trauma Disorders, housed at the University of Connecticut in Hartford, which is an initiative where sessions of patients with traumatic stress disorders are recreated and captured on film.  This project also involves documentary filmmaking such as “The Shakespeare Sessions,” an exploration of the intersection between Shakespeare’s plays and mental health that originally aired on Connecticut PBS. 

CWSO Virtual Presentation with Dr. Gomez

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