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A Self-Care Framework for Social Workers: Building a Strong Foundation for Practice
Abstract
Self-care is widely recognized as critical to social work practice, yet little empirical support or practical guidance exists in the literature to steer social workers in its implementation. Self-care may not only be crucial in preventing secondary traumatic stress, burnout, and high staff turnover, but it can serve as a means of empowerment that enables practitioners to proactively and intentionally negotiate their overall health, well-being, and resilience. The purpose of this article is threefold: (a) to explore current conceptualizations of self-care; (b) to provide a clear conceptual definition of and an applied framework for self-care; and (c) to explicate the utility of this framework for social work practitioners, students, educators, and social service agencies& supervisors and administrators.
... Practices such as taking time to detach and recover from one's work (e.g., by taking breaks and vacations), practicing mindfulness, and prioritizing sleep were found to positively predict wellbeing and reduce mental and somatic health complaints in self-employed workers (Lechat & Torrès, 2017;Murnieks et al., 2020;Taris et al., 2008). Similarly, research existing outside of entrepreneurship showed that sleep quality predicted workers' vitality (e.g., Schmitt et al., 2017), and actively managing one's vitality across the week and implementing energy regulation strategies have benefits for Self-care practices have been developed based on the belief that they can promote or maintain one's general health and well-being, but they are not specifically practiced for the purpose of replenishing one's energy after work or during work breaks (Lee & Miller, 2013). Self-care practices are broader; they also include activities that are usually not described as recovery activities, such as following a healthy diet or planning one's workdays to create enough time for non-work-related activities (Hansson et al., 2005). ...
... Practicing self-care can be considered an effective strategy and internal resource (Kaluza et al., 2021) to protect against stress and further build one's well-being. This is because it can optimize one's physical functioning, help one maintain a positive and compassionate self-view, and foster connectedness (Lee & Miller, 2013). Various studies have revealed that practicing self-care is negatively related to health problems and complaints and positively related to well-being among salaried employees from various sectors and industries (e.g., Brillon et al., 2023;Kaluza et al., 2021;Riegel et al., 2021). ...
... Various definitions of self-care exist in the literature (e.g., Lee & Miller, 2013;Riegel et al., 2021). For the purpose of the current study, self-care is defined as individuals' personal self-directed engagement in behaviors that promote their functioning and health; (Lee & Miller, 2013). ...
Self-employed workers face numerous demands, including high uncertainty, workload, and personal responsibility for business success, that have the potential to jeopardize their well-being. This study integrates aspects of the conservation of resources (COR) theory, the theory of planned behavior (TPB), and the literature on intention–behavior gaps to offer insights into how self-employed workers can influence their well-being. We propose that their intention to adopt self-care practices acts as a motivational element that links assumptions about the well-being-protecting and -enhancing effects of self-care practices to the enactment of such practices. Moreover, we investigate the role of entrepreneurial stressors as potential hindering factors in the translation of self-care practice intentions into actual behavior. In a sample of 290 self-employed workers and employing a two-wave study design with a one-month time lag, we found that frequently practicing self-care was positively associated with workers’ vitality, negatively associated with mental health complaints, and unrelated to somatic health complaints. Among the various types of self-care, physical exercise was most consistently associated with well-being outcomes. Self-care intentions significantly predicted the engagement in self-care practices. Entrepreneurial stressors did not act as barriers to the adoption of self-care practices. By underscoring the utility of self-care practices for self-employed workers’ well-being and the key role of self-care practice intentions, this study responds to the call for a research focus shift towards identifying practices that protect well-being among self-employed workers.
... During the past several years, self-care strategies have been acknowledged as effective in offsetting work-related stress and empowering social work practitioners consciously and actively to improve their wellness and resilience (Lee and Miller, 2013;Salloum et al., 2015). With practices involving both individualized care and structural support provision, self-care in the social work area was believed to be effective especially for intentionally improving social workers' mental well-being (Lee and Miller, 2013). ...
... During the past several years, self-care strategies have been acknowledged as effective in offsetting work-related stress and empowering social work practitioners consciously and actively to improve their wellness and resilience (Lee and Miller, 2013;Salloum et al., 2015). With practices involving both individualized care and structural support provision, self-care in the social work area was believed to be effective especially for intentionally improving social workers' mental well-being (Lee and Miller, 2013). Studies also indicated that engagement with more self-care services was associated with less burnout, more compassion satisfaction, and better health performance (Alkema et al., 2008;Cuartero and Campos-Vidal, 2019;Shepherd and Newell, 2020). ...
Improving mental well-being is essential for social workers. Self-care services are often facilitated to enhance it, but there is limited research exploring their characteristics and effectiveness. We conducted a systematic review of self-care interventions targeting the mental well-being of social workers. A comprehensive search of four English and one Chinese databases yielded 2969 studies for initial screening. Fourteen eligible studies were finally included and reviewed. The results underscored mindfulness as prevalent and effective, with social work students being the main service recipients. Although with limitations, the findings inform future research and self-care services for social workers.
... The implementation of these practices is widely recognized and can serve as a means of empowerment and personal well-being in ways that are deemed constructive and positive. 13 In a culture that glorifies stress, self-care is a way to find balance while serving others and should be given sincere consideration. This author believes it is an action in which a person intentionally decides that they will participate in activities that will create a peace of mind, tranquility of soul and rejuvenation of body while serving others, working hard in their profession or enduring hardship. ...
... It challenges people to care for themselves first before they could care for others while taking the initiative to self -manage and self-correct. 13 It is also an opportunity to give to self and also receive care and support from others by realizing the need for assistance from others. ...
Social workers have a complex role of providing social services with compassion and empathy while working tirelessly, enduring burnout at some level in their careers. The consequences of burnout can be harmful to workers, the people who they service, their families and careers. This public health issue is impacting social workers globally and is the impetus in exploring burnout to assist social workers with identifying the stressors that can lead to burnout and formulate plans to alleviate stress by using self-care tools. Social workers can use these tools to help prevent future stressors from their involvement in providing services to individuals, families, groups, communities, and organizations. This paper reviews the literature that explores burnout of social workers and provides self-care tools to use in daily practice.
... Reviewing general definitions of self-care (cf. Lee -Miller 2013) and their particularization in health-care and social work settings (Hlavac 2017), we understand the concept of self-care in the community interpreting as life-long engagement in practices inside and outside the interpreting encounter in order to optimize the community interpreter' physical, mental and social well-being, support the quality of community interpreting, and exercise community interpreters' social responsibility. ...
The present paper falls in the translation studies, yet it calls for interdisciplinary action – the cooperation between translation studies and social and behavioral studies. Translating/interpreting study programs require that students become competent in language usage in line with translation/interpreting strategies and techniques. Along with being a language expert, a translator/interpreter acts as a negotiator, a mediator, or a facilitator. New life situations make the translation industry impose new tasks on training. The recent months have evidenced that a translator/interpreter may as well serve as a psychologist, mentor, advisor, or counselor, if a need arises. The paper offers two case studies in which the interpreter’s attention was diverted from well-prepared and planned interpreting-and-translation-related coping to immediate coping accompanied by providing psychological support and mental coaching. The present paper argues that unprecedented translation/interpreting tasks should also be attended to during the higher education preparation, which requires introducing the concepts of social responsibility and self-care into community translation/interpreting course.
... Support and a good working climate were also prominent nodes, that relate most directly to the issue of organisational adaptation. Lee and Miller (2013) point out in this regard as a professional self-care guideline to provide professional support (seek supervision on a regular basis). ...
The aim of this paper was to examine secondary traumatization and mental health indicators, together with the predictors of secondary traumatization among social workers employed in the Institute for Social Work in the Republic of Croatia. 106 social workers employed in different departments of the Institute for Social Work participated in the research. The results showed that secondary traumatization is present among social workers. 14.1% of the participants showed severe or extremely severe levels of depressive symptoms, and 20.8% of the participants showed severe or extremely severe levels of anxiety and stress, while the overall results on the Well-Being Index showed their poor emotional state. Predictors of secondary traumatization were the longer working time spent dealing with the user’s traumas and the lower level of personal self-care. Key words: secondary traumatization; trauma; self-care; social workers.
Because mental health professionals are susceptible to impairment and burnout that may negatively affect clinical work, it is ethically imperative that they engage in self-care. Previous research has found direct effects of self-care on self-awareness and well-being (e.g., Coster & Schwebel, 1997). Likewise, mindfulness has been found to positively affect well-being (Brown & Ryan, 2003). However, no studies currently available demonstrate a link between self-awareness and well-being. Mindfulness may be the link needed to support this association. A survey of mental health professionals (N = 148) revealed that mindfulness is a significant mediator between self-care and well-being. Consequently, mental health professionals are encouraged to explore their involvement in and beliefs about self-care practices.
The heads of 107 programs in professional psychology certified by the American Psychological Association participated in a questionnaire study designed to learn their views about well-functioning in professional psychologists and what they had done and would like to do, programmatically, to maintain and enhance it. Their responses were compared with those of 339 licensed psychologists in a prior study. Although the 2 groups both assigned high ratings to self-awareness, a balanced lifestyle, relationship with spouse or partner, and personal values, overall the program heads put more emphasis on the didactic-supervisory items, whereas the practitioners emphasized the personal-existential items. Modifications of psychology programs to place well-functioning of students on par with other major purposes are described in detail.
Abstract
Professionals interested in helping others overcome mental health troubles have long been interested in the impact of professional practice on their own well-being. It is now understood that clinical providers can absorb some measure of the emotional pain their clients endure while listening to individuals, families, groups, or even entire communities describe their experiences of suffering. However, limits in the understanding of the relevant concepts and nomenclature in this area, has hindered the ability to fully comprehend and measure the mechanisms by which this happens. Although the professional community has become more aware of its professional and ethical obligations to participate in activities of professional self-care as a mechanism by which optimal services to others can be offered, the concepts, constructs, and labels for the phenomena are not commonly well-understood by service providers This paper provides a chronologically-organized review of concepts in the literature describing professional burnout, compassion fatigue, secondary traumatic stress reactions, as well as other related terms and constructs that have been used to describe these experiences among clinical practitioners and other social service professionals. A timeline will provide a graphic illustration of the historical relationships between the concepts under examination forming the central focus of the paper.
Balancing self-care and other-care is often a struggle for career counselors and others in the helping professions. The process of caring is made up of a constant series of empathic attachments, active involvements, and felt separations. The ability to continually engage in “the caring cycle” is important for success. However, the constant need to re-create the cycle of caring can lead to counselor depletion and burnout. This article provides a developmental framework for assisting career counselors to avoid depleted caring while prolonging their professional longevity. The model of self-care includes recognizing the hazards of “high touch” work, such as limited resources and constant one-way caring. Also addressed are specific means of professional and personal sustenance, such as maximizing experiences of professional success and balancing personal wellness throughout one's career.
Given recent evidence concerning the prevalence of impairment in practitioners and its deleterious effects upon clients, therapist self-care must be viewed as a moral imperative. Despite the perception that self-care is especially problematic for women psychotherapists, research indicates that we are less ambivalent about practicing self-care and engaging in personal therapy than men practitioners (Mahoney, 1997). We propose a classification system based upon the dimensions of awareness of impairment and commitment to self-care and offer practical suggestions in order to create a climate more amenable for women therapists to engage in self-care activities.
Balancing self-care and other-care is often a struggle for career counselors and others in the helping professions. The process of caring is made up of a constant series of empathic attachments, active involvements, and felt separations. The ability to continually engage in “the caring cycle” is important for success. However, the constant need to re-create the cycle of caring can lead to counselor depletion and burnout. This article provides a developmental framework for assisting career counselors to avoid depleted caring while prolonging their professional longevity. The model of self-care includes recognizing the hazards of “high touch” work, such as limited resources and constant one-way caring. Also addressed are specific means of professional and personal sustenance, such as maximizing experiences of professional success and balancing personal wellness throughout one's career.
One of the key functions of clinical supervision as practised by health professionals such as psychologists includes the restoration of wellbeing, but there are few guidelines in the supervision literature on how to go about this. Research into concepts from the field of positive psychology such as work engagement, sense of coherence, self-efficacy, flow and resilience has begun to provide detailed understanding of workers' happiness, health and betterment. These findings provide possible directions for supervision interventions that go beyond traditional review of self-care and stress-management strategies and seek to extend the wellbeing of the supervisee. This article explores the application of positive psychology to enhance the wellbeing of practitioners such as psychologists, who often work in inherently difficult work environments such as the mental health field. Specifically, a narrative approach is proposed as one possible method and practical examples are offered to demonstrate how positive psychology may be applied in the practice of clinical supervision.
Empathy fatigue results from a state of emotional, mental, physical, and occupational exhaustion that occurs as the counselor's own wounds are continually revisited by the client's life stories of chronic illness, disability, trauma, grief, and loss. Fundamental to the emotional, physical, and spiritual well-being of professional counselors are the self-care strategies that promote resiliency for the prevention of empathy fatigue. This type of “fatigue reaction” and its consequences has been recognized as “counselor impairment” by the American Counseling Association's (ACA) Task Force on Counselor Wellness and Impairment. This article: (a) provides an analysis of empathy fatigue from a mind, body, and spiritual perspective, and (b) delineates variables that should be helpful in the prevention and self-care strategies for professional counselors.