• Experiencingbystanderguilt,shame,feelingsofself-doubt.
• Beingpreoccupiedwiththoughtsofchildrenoutsideofwork.
• Over-identificationwiththechild.
• Lossofhope,pessimism,cynicism.
• Distancing,numbing,detachment,cuttingofffromchildren,stayingbusy.
• Avoidinglisteningtochild’sstoryoftraumaticexperiences
• Difficultyinmaintainingprofessionalboundarieswiththechild
Forthosereasons,itisimportantweunderstandourownneedsandhowtotakecareofourselves.
Understanding Our Own NeedsAllofusatHillcrestChildren’sServices,bothadultsandchildren,havebasichumanneedswhichneedtobetakencareofinorderforustosurviveandthrive.AccordingtoMaslow(1943;2013)theseneedsfallwithinahierarchyasshowninthediagrambelow:
IntroductionDevelopmentalTraumaisdefinedasapsychologicallydistressingeventthatoccursduringachild’sdevelopmentandisoutsidetherangeofusualhumanexperience,ofteninvolvingasenseofintensefearandhelplessness(Perry,2011).Thesetraumaticexperiencescanhaveprofoundimpactsonthechild’sbehaviour.Inthecontextoftrauma,thesebehaviourscanbedescribedas‘functional’,astheyenablethechildtomeettheirbasichumanneedsatthetimeofthetraumaticexperience.
Secondary Trauma
Traumacanalsoripplethroughthepeopleandsystemsaroundthechild.Peopleexposedtotraumaticmaterialand/orempathicallyengagingwithachildwhohasexperiencedtraumaareatriskofsecondary,or‘vicarious’,traumatisation.Thesignsthatyoumaybebeinginfluencedbysecondarytraumainclude:
• Experiencinglingeringfeelingsofanger,rageandsadnessaboutthechild’sexperiences.
• Becomingoverlyinvolvedemotionallywiththechild.
The Importance of Self-Care whenWorking with Traumatised Children
Authors:HeatherLawsonandChelseaCade,AssistantClinicalPsychologistsatHillcrestChildren’sServices
HillcrestChildrensServices HillcrestChildr
Self-AwarenessChildrenwhohaveexperiencedtraumaarehighlysensitisedtothereactionsoftheadultsaroundthem.Itisimportantthatweareawareofourresponsesandareabletorecognisewhenourinternalexperiences(asaresultofworkorhomeevents)maybeimpactingthewayinwhichweinteractwiththechildren.Itisimportanttorecogniseourthoughts,bodysensationsandexpressionsandreflectonwhatmayleadyoutorespondinaparticularway.Ofparticularimportanceisrecognisingwhenwemaybeexperiencingthesignsofsecondarytraumaandensuringthatwearetakingcareofourselves.NewellandMacNeil(2010)reportedthatworkersneedtobeself-aware,butalsohavegoodself-carepractices.
Inaddition,abigpartofself-careisself-compassion.Itcanbeeasytogetintoanegativecycleofself-judgement,however,itisessentialtoextendkindnessandunderstandingtoyourselfratherthanbeingself-critical.Viewyourexperiencesaspartofthelargerhumanexperience.Onewaytoencouragethismightbetotakea‘helicopter’view,lookingatthingsfromtheoutsideandtakingastepbackwhenyouneedtoandbemindful,holdingyourthoughtsandfeelingsinbalanceratherthanover-identifyingwiththem(Neff,2003).Self-awarenessenablesustobeattunedwithouremotionalandphysicalwellbeing.
Everyday Self-CareEn
Engaginginevery-dayself-carecanbeagoodstartingpoint,eventhoughmostofusknowabouttheimportanceofeatinghealthyandengaginginphysicalactivity,thesethingscaneasilyslip.Awaytoremembertheseskillsistoremembertheterm‘PLEASEMASTER’:
1. Treat‘PhysicalIllness’:Takecareofyourbody.Seeadoctorwhennecessary.
2. Balanced‘Eating’:Trytoeatabalanceddietandavoideatingfoodsthatwillgiveyourushofsugarasthisoftenleadstoa‘sugarlow’whichcanleaveyoufeelinglethargicandlowinmood.Beginyourdaywithslowreleasefoodsthatwillkeepyourenergyandmetabolismstablethroughouttheday.Foodshouldnourishyourbody!
3. Avoid‘MoodAlteringDrugs’:Avoidtheuseofnon-prescribeddrugsandminimisealcoholintakeasthesesubstancescanaffectourmood.
4. Balanced‘Sleep’:Trytogettheamountofsleepthathelpsyoufeelgood.Mostadultswillneedbetween6-8hours.Keeptoasleeproutinebygoingtobedatasimilartimeandwakingupatsimilartime.
5. Get‘PhysicalExercise’:Trytoincorporatesomekindofmovementintoyourdaywhetheritbeintheformofexerciseorjusttakingawalk.Itcanburnoffexcessadrenaline,releasemood-enhancingendorphinsandhelpyousleepbetteratnight.
6. AchieveMastery:Trytodoonethingadaytomakeyourselffeelcompetentandincontrol.
Physiological:Basicphysicalrequirementslikefood,water,sleepandwarmth,whicharecriticalforsurvival.
Safety: Theneedtohavestructure,controlandorderinourlifetoinducefeelingsofsecurity.
Love/Belonging:Socialneeds:includingbeingloved,belongingandfeelingaccepted,whichcomesfromrelationshipswithothers.
Esteem:Feelingappreciatedandrespected,i.e.havingeffortsrecognisedandfeelingvalued.Thisincludesself-esteemandpersonalworth,whichcanbeachievedthroughthingslikepersonalhobbiesorworkactivities.
Self-Actualisation:Self-actualisationisahigherstateofpsychologicalwellbeingandcanonlybeachievedoncetheotherneedsinthehierarchyaremet.
Self-CareLearningandlivingalongsidechildrenwhoareaffectedbydevelopmentaltraumacantriggeruncomfortableandperhapschallengingfeelingsinourselves.Howeveraddressingthesefeelingsinourselvesisoftennotseenasapriority.Therefore,self-careisavitalcomponentofworkingwithtraumatisedchildren.Oftenwithinorganisationalcontexts,self-carecanbeneglected.Themythssurroundingself-carecanoftencontributetopeoplenotprioritisingthis,whichcanleadtoanunhelpfulcycleofblockedcareandsecondarytrauma.Examplesofthesemythsinclude:
“Puttingyourselffirstisselfish…”
“Discussingtheemotionalimpactofyourworkmakesyouweak…”
“Givingyourselftime-outmakesyoubadatyourjob…”
Movingawayfromsuchmythsandengagingingoodself-carepracticeisvitaltoallowingyoutoprocessyourownemotionalresponses(inrelationtosecondarytrauma)whichcaninturnallowyoutobemoreeffectiveinyourrolewhilstcaringorinteractingwithtraumatisedchildren.
HillcrestChildrensServices HillcrestChildr
thatweareallhumanandwecannot‘runonfumes,’weallneedtobereplenishedandtakecareofourselves.
References• Maslow,A.H.(1943).Atheoryofhumanmotivation.
Psychologicalreview,50(4),370.
• Maslow,A.H.(2013).Atheoryofhumanmotivation.SimonandSchuster.
• Newell,J.M.,&MacNeil,G.A.(2010).Professionalburnout,vicarioustrauma,secondarytraumaticstress,andcompassionfatigue.BestPracticesinMentalHealth,6(2),57-68.
• Hesse,A.R.(2002).Secondarytrauma:Howworkingwithtraumasurvivorsaffectstherapists.ClinicalSocialWorkJournal,30(3),293-309.
• Perry,B.D.(1999).Stress,trauma,andposttraumaticstressdisordersinchildren.ChildTraumaAcademyMaterials,2(5).ChildTraumaAcademyInterdisciplinaryEducationSeries.
• SelfCareQuiz-https://education.cu-portland.edu/blog/just-for-fun/quiz-new-year-resolution/
• Self-CareforChildren-https://education.cu-portland.edu/blog/classroom-resources/self-care-for-teachers/
• Self-CareChecklist-https://www.hillcrestchildrensservices.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Self-Care-Checklist.pdf
Pro-Active Self-CareYoucanalsobemoreproactiveinyourself-carebothatworkandathome.Athomepracticessuchasregularyogaormeditationcanhelptoreducethestressresponsesinyourbody.Mindfulbreathingcanalsohelpreturnyourbodytoastateofcalmandbeatimetoallowyoutoreflectuponyourday.Maintaininggeneralself-caremayalsoinvolvetheuseofpositiveformsofself-expression,suchasdrawing,painting,sculpting,cooking,oroutdooractivities(Hesse,2002).
Self-carestrategiescanalsobeimplementedwithintheworkplace.Supportingchildrencanseemlikea24hrjobhoweveritisnotyourresponsibilitytobeavailable24hoursaday;thatisaresponsibilityyousharewiththerestofyourteam.Thefollowingisalistofstepstotakebetterself-careatwork.Thinkofthisasastarterlistwhichcanbeadaptedasyoubecomeawareofyourownself-careneeds.
1. Setandmaintainprofessionalboundaries-separateworkandhomeandavoidtakingworkhomewithyou.
2. Balanceyourworkscheduleandlifedemandssonoonedayoroneweekistoomuch.
3. Maketimethroughouttheworkdayforintermittentself-carebreaks(i.e.lunchorafternoonwalk;socialtimewithco-workers;listentorelaxingmusic).
4. Createahealthyworkspaceforyourself(e.g.tidydesk,tidymind).
5. Developashortlist(2-3items)oftopprioritieseachdaywhichyoucanrealisticallyachieve.
6. Minimizeprocrastinationandmaximizeasenseofcontrol.
7. Beforecommittingtosomething,consideryourneedsandavailableresources,andwhetheritwillleadtooverextendingyourself.
Theseareallstrategiesthatyoucantakeresponsibilityforyourselfbutcanalsobeimplementedacrossyourstaffteam.Pleasefindalinktotheself-carechecklistresourcebelow.Thisisavailableforyoutoprinttothinkaboutyourownself-careactivitiesandincorporatingmoreintoyourweeklyroutine.
ConclusionCaringfortraumatisedchildrenisbothachallengingandrewardingjobbutitisimportanttorecognisethatyoucannot‘pourfromanemptycup’.Tobeabletobethebestcareroreducatorforthesechildren,youneedtobetakingcareofyourself.Thiswillnaturallyleadtoyoubeingemotionallyandphysicallyavailableforthechildrenandbetterabletowithstandthechallengesthatcomewithyourrole.Inaddition,itisalsoimportanttorecognisethatweactasrolemodelsforourchildren.Itisimportanttodemonstratetothem
HillcrestChildrensServices HillcrestChildr ©Hillcrest 2019 | SEMH Information Sheet | Issue 6
ForfurtherinformationaboutourschoolsandhomesforchildrenwithSocial,EmotionalandMentalHealth(SEMH)needs,
call:08442487187|email:[email protected]|website:www.hillcrestchildrensservices.co.uk
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