self-care · factors in burnout: ... •self-care is any activity that we do deliberately in order...

Self-Care

Amanda Kampa, MSW, LICSWDenise Dallas, BSW

October 2018

How to prevent yourself and team members from experiencing burnout and how to care for yourself.

• This training will cover feelings of burnout

• How to identify burnout in self and team members

• Explain self-care and the importance of taking care of yourself

• Practical self-care tips

Overview

• Youth in residential treatment centers are placed here due to their behaviors in the past.

• We have to remember their family system…– History of mental health concerns– Instability in their home– Criminal Backgrounds– Lack of structure and support

• Therefore, we can expect to see youth with…– Various different diagnosis– Aggressive and destructive behaviors– Poor coping skills or emotional management

Our Youth…

• These behaviors can sometimes lead to physical and verbal aggression towards staff members or end in physical hold

• Constant exposure to these behaviors can have various reactions on a staff member’s well being

• Staff members in these settings can be faced with feeling overwhelmed and frustrated with their clients

• Staff members under this stress begin to interact less frequently with clients and engage in fewer positive interactions with their clients

• Some of these feelings can be defined as burnout and staff members begin to feel a decrease in being satisfied in their careers

Resulting Feelings

• Acute Stress– This is the type of stress that throws you off balance

momentarily. It comes on quickly and often unexpectedly. (ex: an argument with someone)

– Your body’s stress response is triggered with acute stress, but you can reverse it with quick relaxation techniques• Breathing Exercises• Cognitive Reframing: learn to change the way you look at

the situation to manage your stress levels• Progressive Muscle Relaxation: Like breaking exercises, PMR

will give you a moment to regroup and calm down• Mini Meditation

Types Of Stress and Stress Relief Techniques

• Chronic Stress– This is the type of stress that tends to occur on a regular basis– This stress may leave you feeling drained and can lead to

burnout. When the stress response is chronically triggered and the body is not brought back to a relaxed state before the next wave of stress hits, the body can stay triggered

– This type of stress can lead to health issues such as cardiovascular disease, anxiety, depression and other conditions

– Long-term habits to help better manage general stress:• Exercise Regularly: exercise and stress are closely linked• Maintain a Healthy Diet: this will help with overall stress levels

because your entire system will function better• Cultivate Supportive Relationships• Meditate Regularly• Listen to Music


• Emotional Stress– The pain of emotional stress can hit harder than some

other types of stress.– The stress that comes from a conflicted relationship tends

to bring a greater physical reaction and a stronger sense of distress

– Strategies that help to process, diffuse and build resilience toward emotional stress:• Write in a Journal• Talk to a Friend• Listen to Music• Practice Mindfulness: it can help keep you in the present moment• Talk to a Therapist


• Burnout differs from stress, in that it is due to prolonged symptoms and the process tends to occur over time, rather than immediately following a stressful situation

• Burnout can be defined as “a sustained response to chronic work stress and includes emotional exhaustion, negative attitudes and feelings toward the recipients of service (depersonalization), and a feeling of low accomplishment and professional failure

What is Burnout?

• The more experience that an employee has, the less vulnerable they are too stressful situations. Whereas, employees who are newer to the field, tend to become over-burdened and appear more vulnerable in dealing with these situations.

• Employees who are inexperienced in the field may have higher expectations and an exaggerated sense of idealism that is unmet by the difficulty of the clients

• This sense of optimism can quickly turn into frustration and disappointment in the reality of their settings and clientele

Factors in Burnout:

• Married individuals tend to experience lower levels of burnout and employees who have social support from co-workers, supervisors, friends and family members serves as an effective buffer between job-related stress and the effects of burnout.

• If a person feels supported by co-workers and supervisors, they tend to feel less stressed about their jobs. With having a support system in place, employees are able to discuss their concerns openly and express emotions that they may be feeling about what they are experiencing at work

Factors in Burnout, Continued…

• Counselors are taught to see the world through their clients’ eyes

– Experience our clients through empathy

– Connect to our clients’ pain when vulnerable

• Showing these can make us vulnerable too…

– Can put us at risk for experiencing compassion fatigue, vicarious trauma, secondary traumatic stress and burnout

Counselor Impairment

• Counselor impairment occurs when we ignore, dismiss, or minimize our own needs for balance and self-care

• If our own actions reflect a respect for our own wellness, we will be able to nurture wellness in others

• In order to be an effective leader or counselor, we must first be aware of what keeps us well and what challenges our wellness

• Counselors must be aware of their wellness and be active in maintaining it

Counselor Impairment

• Take Self-Care Assessment

So Now What…

Self-Care

• “The perfect man of old looked after himself first before looking to help others”

Chuang Tzu

• Self-care is any activity that we do deliberately in order to take care of our mental, emotional and physical health

What is Self-Care?

• Your Physical Health:– While self-pampering does not lead to major improvements, the

relaxation that you get from it can trigger the relaxation response, which can prevent chronic stress from damaging your health

• Your Emotional Health:– Having a well-cared for body can make you feel good about yourself

and your life, and conveys to others that you value yourself. This can contribute to long-term feelings of well-being.

• Being a Better Caretaker:– People who neglect their own needs and forget to nurture themselves

are in danger of deeper levels of unhappiness, low self-esteem and feelings of resentment. People who spend their time only taking care of others can be at risk for getting burnt out on all giving. Taking time to care for yourself regularly can make you a better caretaker for others

Self Care Promotes:

• We require our youth to complete a self-care plan prior to discharge, we should also be required to develop a self-care plan.

• Self-Care Plan focuses on:– Physical, intellectual, social, spiritual, emotional, and

sexual

• We asks them to find the balance between all 6 parts of their lives to avoid putting themselves at risk to re-offend– If we are unbalanced in any of these areas, we are

putting ourselves at risk for burning out

Self-Care Plans

• We get overwhelmed at work, projects are piling up at home, our calendars are packed with overdue tasks

– To make room for all of this, we skip lunch, stop going to the gym, or forget our social life

• When we are stressed, self-care is usually the first thing to go, that only makes things worse

Self-Care Isn’t Just Important It’s Crucial

• It’s easy to neglect taking care of ourselves because when we’re busy and overwhelmed, even a small reprieve feels like a luxury. – That mindset backfires

• Self-care helps us make progress faster for a few reasons:– Self-care prevents “overload burnout”

– Self-care reduces the negative effects of stress

– Self-care helps us refocus

Self-Care Isn’t Just Important It’s Crucial

• Don’t treat self-care as a reward

• Self-care is not a reward, but part of the process

Self-Care as a Reward

• Get Enough Sleep– Lack of sleep can negatively impact our ability to handle stress– Things we can do to support better sleep habits: using time

management strategies to carve out more time, relaxation techniques to help us fall asleep and get quality sleep all night, reduce screen time

• Maintain Proper Nutrition– A poor diet can actually make us more vulnerable to stress.

Stress can make it more difficult for us to maintain a healthy diet, which can contribute to more stress. Feeling stressed can make us crave unhealthy foods as well, which contributes to a vicious cycle

– We may be surprised how much stress we can handle when our body is well nourished

10 Self-Care Strategies for Stress Reduction

• Exercise Regularly

– It provides a stress release and keeps our body healthy. It also helps our body release endorphins, which increase our feelings of overall well being

• Maintain Social Support

– Keeps us healthier and happier, creating a buffer against stress

– Friends can pick us up when we are sad, provide insights when we are confused and help us have fun when we need to blow off steam


• Find Hobbies– Having some “down time” is important and can

provide a nice distraction from stress and help us stay “in the moment” which is also a great way to relieve tension

• Pamper Yourself– Taking care of our body on the outside with a spa

treatment, for example, can work wonders for our internal state.

– Don’t overlook the importance of pampering oneself on a regular basis. It can help us feel great about ourself


• Keep Your Mind Sharp– If we maintain the attitude that stress is a challenge rather

then a threat, we are better able to handle it.

– By keeping our mind sharp, we are more equipped to solve the problems and take on the challenges that life presents• Games like crossword puzzles, Sudoku, and trivia challenges can

be fun to play and a way to relax when we are feeling stressed

• Have the Right Attitude– Much of what we experience in life can feel more stressful

or less so depending on our point of view

– Optimistic frame of mind can decrease our stress level and can bring us more success in life


• Process Your Emotions– Keeping our emotions bottled up can lead to an

emotional explosion. It is healthier to listen to our feelings, process them, and try to understand them

– A great way to process emotions is to journal. When we write about our feelings, and potential solutions to our problems, we can reduce stress in our life and even see some health benefits

• Maintain a Spiritual Practice– Spiritual practice is deeply personal, and whatever

your practice, it should nurture your soul


• Reading books

• Exercising

• Getting more rest

• Taking a walk

• Listening to music

• Family activities

• Going to the movies

• Going to the salon

• Picking up a hobby

• Life style changes

• Talking to support systems

• Seeking professional consultation

Examples of Self-Care

• Relax

• Practice Acceptance

• Talk Rationally to Yourself

• Get Organized

• Exercise

• Reduce Time Urgency

• Disarm Yourself

• Quiet Time

• Watch Your Habits

• Talk to Friends

10 Self-Care Techniques

• Use PTO

• Develop a support system

• Maintain personal hobbies

• Maintain professional boundaries

• Be able to say “NO”

• Realizing personal limitations

• Realizing personal triggers

• Being able to openly process incidents and emotions

• Separating home issues from work issues.

More Techniques

• Engage in activities that promote physical health and leisure activities

• Seek emotional support

• Take mental health breaks purposely

• Seek out experiences which instill hope and comfort

• Set clear boundaries between work and home

• Utilize the EAP services offered through your benefits

Other Techniques

• Help co-workers recognize their need for self-care, gently

• Develop open communication

• Provide a supportive environment

• Express appreciation for one another

• Utilize other team members

• Engage in stress relieving activities

Help Promote Self-Care with Team Members

• Counselors need to understand how their wellness is affected by the work we do and the steps we can take to be as well as possible

• “If I can be sensitively aware of and acceptant toward my own feelings-then the likelihood is great that I can form a healthy relationship toward another”

Things to Remember

• If we assume change in our clients happen as a result of a relationship then for counselor impairment to change we need to work on relationships among counselors.

Things to Remember

• Awa, W. L., Plaumann, M., & Walter, U. (2010). Burnout Prevention: A Review of Intervention Programs. Patient Education and Counseling, 78, 184-190.

• Barford, S. W. & Whelton, W. J. (2010). Understanding Burnout in Child and Youth Care Workers. Child Youth Care Forum, 39(4), 271-287.

• Hastings, R. P., Horne, S., Mitchell, G. (2004). Burnout in Direct Care Staff in Intellectually Disability Services: A Factor Analytic Study of the MaslachBurnout Inventory. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, 48(3), 268- 273.

• Holden, M. J. (2001). Therapeutic Crisis Intervention: Trainer’s Manual (5th ed.). Ithaca, NY: The Family Life Development Center.

• Lawson, G., Venart, E., Hazler, R., Kottler, J. (2007). Toward the Culture of Counselor Wellness. Journal of Humanistic Counseling, Education, and Development, 46, 5-19.

• Ogresta, J., Rusac, S., & Zorec, L. (2008). Relation Between Burnout Syndrome and Job Satisfaction Among Mental Health Workers. Croatian Medical Journal,

49(3), 364-374.• Oort, F. V. A, Verhulst, F. C., Ormel, J., & Huizink, A. C. (2010). Prospective

Community Study of Family Stress and Anxiety in (Pre)adolescents: The TRAILS study. European Child and Adult Psychiatry, 19(6), 483-491.

References:

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