From Burnout to Resilience: Supporting Austin’s Addiction Treatment Workforce
In July 2025, the Steve Hicks School of Social Work at UT Austin was awarded a significant grant to pilot a “stress first aid” framework aimed at addressing stress and burnout among addiction treatment providers, including harm reduction and substance use service workers in Texas and four other states. Frontline staff nurses, peer coaches, counselors are often overworked and under-supported, yet they deliver lifesaving care day in and day out. This funding reflects a growing understanding: to sustain quality care in cities like Austin, we must first sustain the caregivers themselves.
The Hidden Toll on Those Who Help
Burnout among addiction treatment professionals isn’t just a workplace issue it’s a community concern. When workers face emotional exhaustion, trauma, and moral distress without formal support, it affects retention, client care, and system resilience. This new grant funds research into preventative strategies like peer support, self-care protocols, and organizational shifts to support staff wellness earlier in their careers.
Dr. Katie McCormick a doctoral candidate at UT and recipient of a Moore Fellowship has explored these themes directly in her dissertation “Contributors of Occupational Stress and Burnout Among Texas Harm Reduction Workers,” noting high trauma exposure, compassion fatigue, and limited mental health support among frontline workers.
Why This Grants Matter for Austin
Austin’s recovery ecosystem thrives on people social workers, mentors, EMTs, peer support specialists who show up with empathy and expertise. Sustaining quality care across the city means investing in the health of our treatment workforce, ensuring they have the tools, rest, and community to provide stable support.
When frontline workers are supported, harm reduction services stay strong and that’s the foundation for programs like ours at Ranch House Recovery.
Our Perspective at Ranch House Recovery
At Ranch House Recovery, we see firsthand how burnout among behavioral health providers and mentors can ripple outward impacting men in recovery who rely on steady relationships to guide them through change.
As a trusted provider of drug rehab in Austin, we believe:
- Caring for the caregiver builds better care for those in need.
- Workforce burnout is a crisis we can’t afford to ignore especially amid ongoing opioid challenges.
- Resilience isn’t just personal it’s organizational.
What This Research Could Unlock
The UT Social Work initiative will test the “stress first aid” framework, which equips organizations to detect early signs of overload providing immediate, peer-based tools to reduce acute stress.
Expected outcomes include:
- Reduced turnover rates among addiction treatment staff
- Improved job satisfaction and sense of purpose
- Higher quality of care, with better outcomes for people in recovery
- Enhanced collaboration across public, non-profit, and peer-driven treatment programs
If public health agencies adopt findings, Austin may become a model city for treating those who treat others ensuring workforce wellness is seen as essential public health infrastructure.
Voices from Our Team: Hope and Reality in Austin
Our staff understand the pressures and the promise in this work:
Jonathon Stewart, Director of ABD:
“We see folks come in deeply hurt, but often our mentors and counselors carry that weight too. When our team struggles, it echoes in recovery.”
Cody Cash, Director of Operations:
“Systems that value wellness grow. When staff have space to recover, clients experience consistency and that’s vital in recovery.”
Alexandra Litke, Administrative Director:
“We’re small, but every team member matters to our residents. If people can’t function, recovery infrastructure breaks.”
Building Resilience into Austin’s Recovery Ecosystem
A few paths forward stand out:
- Data-driven self-care: Organizations can track early indicators of burnout (like hours worked, emotional exhaustion) and intervene early.
- Peer-led gatherings: Regular check-ins among staff and mentors to debrief, share stress, and foster camaraderie.
- Formal frameworks: Guidelines from UT’s program like stress-first aid kits can become core training across agencies in Austin.
- Policy and funding support: When grants treat workforce well-being as accountable and measurable, it validates frontline care as public health infrastructure.
Why This Matters to People Seeking Help
When addiction treatment providers are valued, customers gain a stronger path to stability. At Ranch House Recovery, we know that:
- Stability within our staff promotes continuity of care for men in our program.
- Lower turnover improves connection, trust, and therapeutic consistency.
- A resilient team means better integration of services from family outreach to aftercare planning.
Looking Ahead: Investing in Those Who Serve Others
UT’s School of Social Work award acknowledges an essential truth: the people helping others recover need help too. As Austin continues to grow as a health innovation hub, sustaining frontline addiction treatment will be central to its success.
We’re encouraged by the prospect of evidence-based support for staff, grounded in Austin’s own experience and our lived recovery community.
Our Role: Compassion + Structure = Sustainable Recovery
As colleagues across public systems, peer networks, and nonprofits build resilience into their organizations, Ranch House Recovery stands ready to partner and to ensure every man who comes to our doors receives care from a provider who is supported, engaged, and grounded.
When workforce wellness is prioritized, we see it reflected in every recovering man’s life.
If you’re part of the community interested in building resilience for residents or for the workforce let’s connect.
We’re here to support healthy, healing relationships for those served, and those serving. ranchhouserecovery.com/contact
