The Psychology of Healing: A Burn Care Professional’s Perspective

There is just something different about the burn community. In the world of healthcare, where turnover can be frequent and continuous, the burn unit is different. Care providers come, and they tend to stay for the long term. Shelley is one of those professionals.

Dr. Shelley Wiechman has been a Rehabilitation Psychologist in the burn care unit at Harborview Medical Center since 2000. It's not exactly where she thought she'd spend her career. She began her education focusing on sports psychology and found joy working with intercollegiate, professional, and Olympic-level athletes.

But when she landed in the burn unit for a stint during her training in 1996, she knew that's where she belonged. She's been there ever since.

"It's such a unique environment. We get to follow our patients from the intensive care unit to acute care into outpatient settings—and throughout the rest of their lives. That is a rewarding experience no other field of medicine really offers."

Shelley fell in love with the community, but she was also drawn in by the opportunity she saw to use her education and training in sports psychology to benefit burn survivors.

That's where Shelley found her fit. In her work with burn survivors, she discovered profound similarities between their psychological needs and those of the athletes she had worked with. She recognized the untapped potential in applying sports psychology principles to help burn survivors achieve peak performance and mental wellness in their recovery.

For nearly 30 years, she has been helping survivors navigate their recovery, guiding them in developing healthy coping mechanisms and finding resources to foster resilience. Peer support plays a key role in her approach to care.

For several years, Shelley has served as a Phoenix SOAR Program Coordinator at Harborview Medical Center. The program is designed to connect survivors and loved ones with others who have experienced similar trauma—whether through their own burn injury or as the loved one of a burn survivor.

In her role as program coordinator, Shelley introduces new survivors and their families to the idea of peer support and matches them up with a peer supporter if they want to connect. She also educates the burn team and sets standards of care at the hospital to ensure that survivors are made aware of the program at varying stages of recovery—a crucial strategy, because every burn injury and every healing process are unique.

"There is a huge range of impact with burn injuries. And just as varied are survivors' responses and how closely they identify with their injury or resulting disability. So, their individual needs for support are going to vary."

Shelley underscores the importance of meeting survivors where they’re at, in every stage of their recovery. Whether someone identifies closely with their burn survivor status or not, the key to healthy recovery lies in addressing their unique needs and ensuring they never feel isolated.

In her experience, Phoenix Society for Burn Survivors is an indispensable partner in achieving that goal.

With its depth of resources, breadth of programs, and inclusive approach, Phoenix Society recognizes and respects each survivor's journey as unique. Its extensive service options offer support and resources that cater to individual needs and diverse preferences throughout recovery.

There is no prescribed timeline for healing, as individuals navigate their unique journeys at their own pace. Shelley stresses the importance of offering comprehensive resources from the outset. The key is making sure survivors know what's available, so they have what they need when they're ready.

Shelley's focus is helping each survivor achieve their highest potential and live their fullest life…beginning with emotional healing. Phoenix Society offers support, resources, and community that are essential to living fully after a burn.

Shelley counts it both a privilege and a responsibility for hospitals and burn centers to connect patients with the support Phoenix provides: “The survivor network can be a huge part of someone's healing. At a minimum, hospitals need to let every survivor know about Phoenix Society and the support that is out there. It must start with us."