Self Care

One of the things we stress to social work students is the importance of self-care.  Much of our work involves our emotions and feelings and it is crucial to create a safe way to process our experiences and to decompress. 

But you're grad students! Who has the time??? Right? ;)

Make the time. You deserve it.

Being a social worker professional is an amazing experience, as I'm sure you are all discovering as you progress in your field placements.  As I often tell students, "be in it for the long haul... we need you."

Here are some resources about Compassionate Fatigue in the field of Social Work:

Self-Care in Social Work

A Guide for Practitioners, Supervisors, and Administrators

Kathleen Cox and Sue Steiner

NASW Press

Transforming Compassion Fatigue into Compassion Satisfaction: Top 12 Self-Care Tips for HelpersBy Francois Mathieu, M.Ed., CCC. Compassion Fatigue Specialist 

 (the link in this document to the ProQOL is defunt.. use this one instead:

Compassionate Fatigue: Being an Ethical Social Worker

By Tracy C. Wharton, M.Ed., MFT

There is also very simple stress-reducing method at your immediate disposal whenever you are feeling stressed or overwhelmed.... it's called.... breathing. Sometimes we just need to take a nice deep breath and regroup. I know it seems obvious, but I can't tell you how often I've had to remind folks to just breathe.

Remember, you are part of a supportive network! Reach out.