Aiutare ad aiutare. Stress, burn-out e manutenzione del sistema curante

There are jobs and professions that may turn work into something dangerous or exhausting, and among them primarily emerge the helping professions - nurses, doctors, social workers, psychologists, etc. - for their continual closeness to deeply suffering people, at a physical or a psychic level, or both. The article explores the origins and the processes at stake in the various forms of painful experiences affecting those professions that are mostly exposed to high emotional costs, especially stress and burn-out. In doing so it highlights the role played by the organization and the management, and describes some of the most effective methods for the containment of anxieties and the promotion of organizational well-being, namely: supervisions, Group Relations Conferences, the executive coaching, the Social Dreaming, the Listening Post, the institutional observation, and the Balint Groups.