Mental Health Care Tips for Veterinary Technicians

By Melissa Slaughter, RVT
Veterinary technicians face a unique combination of high emotional load, physical strain, client conflict, financial instability, and moral stress. Burnout and compassion fatigue are extremely common, but they are preventable with the right support.

Let’s talk about some options to support and strengthen your mental wellbeing as a technician and veterinary professional.

Recognize Compassion Fatigue Early

Some early signs to look out for include:

Tech Tip: Normalize saying, “That case hit me harder than I expected.” Naming it reduces the shame you may feel.

Develop a “Post-Euthanasia Reset” Routine

Staff often carry the emotional weight of end-of-life care. When dealing with it afterwards, try to create a small reset ritual such as:

This helps your nervous system shift out of acute stress mode and allows you to recoup even if you only have 5 minutes between appointments.

Set Emotional Boundaries with Clients

You can be compassionate without absorbing everything.
Instead of:
“I’m so sorry, this is awful.”
Try:
“I can see how much you love her. We’re here with you.”
You are present — but not carrying their grief home. It’s already difficult enough carrying your own burdens without carrying theirs too.

Protect Your Energy on High-Volume Days

When you can’t reduce your workload, reduce decision fatigue:

Low blood sugar = higher emotional reactivity.
I.E.: Being “hangry” is all too real.

Tech Tip: A Snickers bar is NOT a good enough snack, but it’s a start. Keep,your favorite protein bar in your go bag!

Build Peer Debrief Culture

After difficult cases initiate discussion or reset:

Quick peer validation reduces isolation dramatically and allows for connection and can decrease the emotional fatigue from cases.

If your clinic doesn’t have this culture, you can and should start it.

Separate Work from Home

Yes, you read that right. Stop logging into Instinct to check your patients board 2 hours after your shift ended. Separating work and home will help decrease the risk of burnout and fatigue.

Try to create a transition ritual to prevent bringing the weight of work home:

This signals to your brain: “Work is OVER.”

Tech Tip: Pick something NON VETMED as your podcast or book. Sara J. Maas has been a recent favorite for this author!

Address Financial Stress

Financial strain is a major mental health contributor in vet med. We all know too well that the pay scale isn’t as it should be across the board. This can make it even more stressful to continue doing work you love when you struggle to pay the bills.
Things to consider:

Feeling stuck in your career or in life increases burnout more than workload alone.

Use Nervous System Regulation Tools (Not Just “Self Care”)

Painting your nails or in my case thrifting, isn’t adequate to deal with the high levels of stress we deal with on a daily basis.

High-functioning stress needs physical regulation. Try these techniques:

Stress is physiological, not just emotional. Take care of your body, take care of yourself.
Tech Tip: There are great stickers with instructions for breathing techniques you can put on your water bottle. Get your hydration when you reset!

Recognize When Professional Help Is Needed (In Yourself and Others)

Seek support if you recognize:

Veterinary professionals have elevated suicide risk — seeking help is strength, not weakness. But sometimes asking for help is the opposite of what someone wants.

Encourage management to invest in QPR training for staff or Mental Health First Aid certification.
Check out these free resources:

Reconnect with Purpose (Without Guilt)

Burnout doesn’t mean you chose the wrong field. It just means your duo is spilling over or it’s too empty.

Try these tactics to keep yourself grounded and remind yourself why you joined this field:

Most Importantly: Create A Mindset Shift

You should always remember that you are allowed to:

Veterinary medicine does not require self-sacrifice to be meaningful. You can stay whole and not injure your wellbeing while still giving your patients the best care.