Transcript Supportive School Environments: Helping Traumatized

SELF CARE
Supporting Ourselves,
Supporting Our Students.
Hector Ibarra, MSW
Frances Valdez, MSW
School Mental Health
LAUSD
Compassion Fatigue as an
Occupational Hazard
The cumulative physical,
emotional and
psychological effect of
exposure to stories or
events characterized by
fear, pain, and suffering
when working in a helping
capacity, combined with the
strain and stress of
everyday life.
Risk of Burnout
A state of emotional,
mental, and physical
exhaustion caused by
excessive and prolonged
stress.
 It occurs when you feel
overwhelmed and unable
to meet constant demands.
 As the stress continues, you
begin to lose the interest
or motivation that led you
to take on a certain role in
the first place.

Signs and Symptoms
Decreased energy
 Feeling that there is no time for one’s self
 Disconnection from others
 Social Withdrawal
 Physical illness/absences from work
 Cynicism, despair, and hopelessness
 Increased/decreased sensitivity to violence,
threat or fear
 Memory impairment

Protective Factors (our hazmat suit)
Professional consultation and
support
 Self-care
 Training
 Sense of control
 Spirituality
 Exercise
 Humor
 Satisfying personal
relationships
 Community involvement
 Organizational recognition and change
 Guiding professional ethical principles

Self Care: Our Ethical Responsibility
NASW Code of Ethics:
Standard 6: Developing as a
Professional Educator
6.6 Managing professional
responsibilities to maintain
motivation and commitment
to all students by asking,
How do I
 Find support & develop
strategies to balance
professional
responsibilities with my
personal needs?
 Manage stress & maintain
a positive attitude with
students & colleagues?
4.05 IMPAIRMENT


.
(a) Social workers should not allow their own
personal problems, psychosocial distress,
legal problems, substance abuse, or mental
health difficulties to interfere with their
professional judgment and performance or
to jeopardize the best interests of people
for whom they have a professional
responsibility.
(b) Social workers whose personal problems,
psychosocial distress, legal problems,
substance abuse, or mental health difficulties
interfere with their professional judgment
and performance should immediately seek
consultation and take appropriate remedial
action by seeking professional help, making
adjustments in workload, terminating
practice, or taking any other steps necessary
to protect clients and others.
The ABCs of Self-Care
7
Awareness
Balance
Connection
Discharge what is harmful
Embrace what is helpful

Professional Resilience Framework

Optimism

Mastery

Collaboration
Optimism
Reframe the situation:
Only this situation
Positive past situation
Temporary
I have support
Mentor’s example
Imagine success
Sometimes isn’t forever
My effort matters
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832)
"I have come to the frightening conclusion that I am the
decisive element. It is my personal approach that
creates the climate. It is my daily mood that makes the
weather. I possess tremendous power to make life
miserable or joyous. I can be a tool of torture or an
instrument of inspiration. I can humiliate or humor, hurt
or heal. In all situations, it is my response that decides
whether a crisis is escalated or de-escalated, and a
person is humanized or de-humanized. If we treat
people as they are, we make them worse. If we treat
people as they ought to be, we help them become
what they are capable of becoming.”