Dealing with crisis situations is challenging and can be highly stressful, so you will need effective strategies for taking care of yourself. In this chapter, we will explore various self-care strategies to assist you in dealing with the emotional and psychological stress that can arise from working in community services.
By the end of this topic, you will understand:
- principles and practices of self-care
- how to recognise and minimise risks to yourself associated with crisis support
- how to identify and respond to your need for supervision and debriefing.
We walk alongside the clients. We listen to those stories. We invest emotionally. We are human, so it has to have an impact.
‘Self-care’ means taking care of your own physical, mental and emotional well-being, not only during and after a crisis, but as part of your own professional practice.
Self-care may sound ‘selfish’ or self-centred, but it is based on the understanding that you cannot effectively care for or support another person if you are not able to care for yourself. Failing to care for yourself means that your capacity to support others will be impaired, so self-care is an essential set of skills for all workers in community services.
Impact of Dealing with Crises
Being confronted with and dealing with situations where your clients experience crises, pain and distress can also cause you emotional and psychological pain and distress. If you do not address your own needs for support, the impact on you can be serious and long-lasting. Your capacity to do your job can be affected because your own mental and physical health may be compromised.
Vicarious trauma is an unavoidable consequence of working with trauma survivors. For workers in the caring professions, this can mean actual harm over time. Indeed, there are workers who feel that their experiences are less ‘vicarious’ and represent direct trauma.
Vicarious Trauma
The impact of being exposed to and witnessing the impact of traumatic events on others is called vicarious trauma. This means that you may experience ‘secondhand’ emotional, psychological and physical responses and effects very similar to those of the person who is actually experiencing the trauma first-hand.
WEBSITE
Vicarious trauma: selfcare to manage other people’s trauma, ACT Community services, 2020
LEARN MORE
New study: Understanding Vicarious Trauma
‘Feeling heavy’ vicarious trauma and other issues facing those who work in the sexual assault field, AIFS, 2007
Study puts a spotlight on trauma of community service workers, Alderslade, Aged Care Guide, 2019
Vicarious trauma, signs and strategies for coping, British Medical Association, 2020
Vicarious trauma and burnout, The Lookout, not dated
Self-care strategies for the impact of responding to crisis situations include strategies used to recognise and manage any work-related stress and to practice good self-care, with a particular focus on managing the impact of being involved in crisis situations.
Work Role Boundaries
An essential strategy for working effectively in any community services role, and for following your legal and ethical requirements is to work within the boundaries of your professional role.
This means not undertaking any tasks that are not included in your job role description or duty statement and not stepping outside of the boundaries of your legal and ethical obligations.
For an overview of legal and ethical considerations for community service workers, please refer to your Fundamentals of Community Services Learner Guide, Chapter 3. Ethical and Legal Principles.
Working within the boundaries of your role will help protect you and your clients. Having clear boundaries can provide you with a sense of safety that can help to minimise the impact of working with clients experiencing crises.
Mental Health
Any area of community service work can be stressful and have effects on your emotional, psychological and mental health, so developing and practising strategies to maintain mental health is important wherever you work.
General principles for maintaining mental health include:
- Looking after your physical well-being by following a healthy lifestyle that includes good nutrition, adequate sleep and regular exercise
- Having a supportive social network of peers, friends, family and others that you can talk to
- Being aware of signs of stress and/or distress and seeking advice, support and help when you need to
- Engaging in activities and relationships that provide you with enjoyment, a sense of purpose or meaning and a sense of belonging, identity and worth
- Accessing resources and strategies that contribute to psychological well-being such as counselling services, and practices such as meditation, mindfulness or yoga
Peer Support/Networks
Peer support networks are important in any stressful or challenging work role. Your peers include your work colleagues and others in similar work roles or professions who are able to understand and relate to your experiences and your responses to difficult situations. Talking to peers about a situation and about your feelings and responses to it can also provide valuable support and help you to feel less alone or to reassure you that your feelings and responses are not abnormal or unreasonable.
Website
Work life balance, Health Direct, 2021
Self-Care Routines and Activities
Developing and practicing self-care routines and activities is an individual exercise. What suits others may not suit you, so find practices and activities that meet your own needs (but avoid choosing strategies that are in themselves harmful, such as using alcohol or drugs!).
Remember that good self-care requires attention to all aspects of your being including physical, psychological, emotional, social, cultural and spiritual. Think of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and remember to address of all the needs that he identifies.
Website
Your Organisation’s Responsibilities
In line with workplace health and safety legislation, your organisation has an obligation to provide you with a safe workplace.
This includes identifying and responding to hazards and risks, which can include risks associated with responding to crisis situations and ensuring that work practices, policies and procedures are safe. It also includes providing access to procedures and services that support mental and physical health and wellbeing.
Health and Safety Policies and Procedures
You have a responsibility to understand and follow your organisation’s workplace health and safety procedures. Doing this is part of self-care.
Watch
Checkout the following video from the Social Care Institute for Excellence titled Supervision: supporting staff and improving care:
Duration 12:56
Self-care routines, activities and strategies commonly used by community services workers include:
| Healthy lifestyle | Engaging in hobbies and activities | Engaging in meaningful relationships | Wellbeing strategies | Stress management |
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Supervision
Supervision is part of workplace health and safety and accessing supervision can also be part of your self-care.
Supervision is usually provided by your line manager and may be linked to performance appraisal and management processes, but it should also be available to you when you need to discuss a concern, issue or incident. Developing a good working relationship with your supervisor and seeking advice and assistance when you need it is an important aspect of self-care.
When you are working to support people experiencing crisis situations, you should have regular access to supervision. This is usually undertaken by your line manager as part of routine, regular supervision meetings and activities. It can also be provided on an ‘as needed’ basis, which means that you can contact and discuss issues, concerns and situations with your supervisor when you need to.
Your organisation may also provide you with access to external supervision and/or counselling support as and when you need it, as part of an employee support program. While you are studying, your training provider may also provide you with access to internal and external supports and services for you to consult and use when you experience difficulties.
Example
The standards outlined in the articles below provide a good example of what you can expect from supervision:
AASW Supervision standards 2014, Australian Association of Social Workers, 2014.
Critical Incident Debriefing
Participating in procedures for debriefing after a critical incident is an important part of self-care. Being involved in a critical incident can have lasting effects on your emotional, psychological and physical wellbeing. Community services organisations usually have clear policies and procedures for supporting staff after a critical incident and conducting debriefing sessions is common practice.
Critical incident debriefing sessions may be conducted in-house or by external services.
Learn more
- Workplace safety – coping with a critical incident, Better Health Victoria, 2020
- The importance of critical incident debriefing in preventing psychological injuries, Work Options, undated
- Critical incident debriefing from a traumatic event, Davis, Psychology Today, 2013
- Critical incident fact sheet, ACT Department of Community Services, undated.
- Self-care planning for healthcare workers, Black Dog Institute, 2020
- Self-care toolkit, Goldberg, Social Work Manager, 2017
This learning activity asks you to use what you have learnt about self-care to plan, try out and evaluate your own self-care strategies.
Think about your current employment or study. Answer the questions below and develop your own self-care plan. Try out at least three self-care strategies for a week or two, then evaluate and reflect on how they are working for you.
- What do you understand by ‘self-care?’ In your own words, explain what this means.
- Why do you think it is important for workers who deal with people experiencing crisis situations to practise self-care?
- Under workplace health and safety legislation, organisations have a responsibility to provide safe work environments and work practices for their employees and to support their health and wellbeing. Within the context of supporting clients experiencing crisis situations, outline the work health and safety responsibilities of a community services organisation towards it staff members, including:
- Identifying the relevant Commonwealth, state or territory legislation for this organisation, and briefly explain the key requirements
- Outlining how the organisation supports the health and wellbeing of its employees, including relevant policies and procedures, access to support programs, debriefing procedures, peer support, supervision and other activities that support stress management and self-care.
- Use online and other resources to find a self-care planning tool or template that suits you. Use this to develop your own self-care plan, including: Identifying aspects of your role that you find stressful (this may be a work role or a study role)
- Outlining your physical, emotional and psychological symptoms/indicators of when you are feeling stressed or anxious
- Outlining the key areas that should be included in a self-care plan
- Choosing and outlining at least three self-care strategies that you think you will find useful and that will suit your individual needs and preferences (remember to address all of the self-care areas you identified)
- Using your self-care planning tool to develop your own self-care plan
- Try your self-care plan out for at least seven-ten days.
- How did your plan work? What changes in your stress levels and wellbeing did you notice? What changes or improvements do you need to make to your plan?
- What have you learnt about practising self-care from completing this learning activity?
- How do you plan to practise self-care in your future career? Why?
In conclusion, this topic has highlighted the imperative need for self-care strategies when dealing with challenging and stressful crisis situations in community services. You have gained insights into the principles and practices of self-care, equipping yourself with tools to address the emotional and psychological stress inherent in this field. The importance of recognizing and minimizing risks to your well-being associated with crisis support has been emphasized, fostering a holistic approach to personal care. Additionally, you now understand how to identify and respond to your need for supervision and debriefing, ensuring ongoing support and resilience in the face of demanding circumstances. This comprehensive exploration contributes to your ability to maintain personal well-being while effectively navigating the challenges inherent in crisis management within community services.
