Combating Burnout as a Single Working Parent

Dr. Stephanie Lee, a senior director at the Child Mind Institute, has been observing widespread burnout in the communities she serves, particularly among single parents. “Single parents are particularly at risk in terms of isolation because of all the things they need to do on a daily basis, and they have absolutely no help to do it,” she said. That isolation was what Matthew Burke, a school psychologist based in Philadelphia and single father of two boys, found particularly difficult when he found himself out of work and isolated and alone for most of the past year. “It’s a lot, it’s really challenging,” he said. “Nobody’s ever loved their boys more than me. But I miss parts of myself other than being a dad.”