• Experiencingbystanderguilt,shame,feelingsofself-doubt.
• Beingpreoccupiedwiththoughtsofchildrenoutsideofwork.
• Over-identificationwiththechild.
• Lossofhope,pessimism,cynicism.
• Distancing,numbing,detachment,cuttingofffromchildren,stayingbusy.
• Avoidinglisteningtochild’sstoryoftraumaticexperiences
• Difficultyinmaintainingprofessionalboundarieswiththechild
Forthosereasons,itisimportantweunderstandourownneedsandhowtotakecareofourselves.
Understanding Our Own NeedsAllofusatHillcrestChildren’sServices,bothadultsandchildren,havebasichumanneedswhichneedtobetakencareofinorderforustosurviveandthrive.AccordingtoMaslow(1943;2013)theseneedsfallwithinahierarchyasshowninthediagrambelow:
IntroductionDevelopmentalTraumaisdefinedasapsychologicallydistressingeventthatoccursduringachild’sdevelopmentandisoutsidetherangeofusualhumanexperience,ofteninvolvingasenseofintensefearandhelplessness(Perry,2011).Thesetraumaticexperiencescanhaveprofoundimpactsonthechild’sbehaviour.Inthecontextoftrauma,thesebehaviourscanbedescribedas‘functional’,astheyenablethechildtomeettheirbasichumanneedsatthetimeofthetraumaticexperience.
Secondary Trauma
Traumacanalsoripplethroughthepeopleandsystemsaroundthechild.Peopleexposedtotraumaticmaterialand/orempathicallyengagingwithachildwhohasexperiencedtraumaareatriskofsecondary,or‘vicarious’,traumatisation.Thesignsthatyoumaybebeinginfluencedbysecondarytraumainclude:
• Experiencinglingeringfeelingsofanger,rageandsadnessaboutthechild’sexperiences.
• Becomingoverlyinvolvedemotionallywiththechild.
The Importance of Self-Care whenWorking with Traumatised Children
Authors:HeatherLawsonandChelseaCade,AssistantClinicalPsychologistsatHillcrestChildren’sServices
HillcrestChildrensServices HillcrestChildr
Self-AwarenessChildrenwhohaveexperiencedtraumaarehighlysensitisedtothereactionsoftheadultsaroundthem.Itisimportantthatweareawareofourresponsesandareabletorecognisewhenourinternalexperiences(asaresultofworkorhomeevents)maybeimpactingthewayinwhichweinteractwiththechildren.Itisimportanttorecogniseourthoughts,bodysensationsandexpressionsandreflectonwhatmayleadyoutorespondinaparticularway.Ofparticularimportanceisrecognisingwhenwemaybeexperiencingthesignsofsecondarytraumaandensuringthatwearetakingcareofourselves.NewellandMacNeil(2010)reportedthatworkersneedtobeself-aware,butalsohavegoodself-carepractices.
Inaddition,abigpartofself-careisself-compassion.Itcanbeeasytogetintoanegativecycleofself-judgement,however,itisessentialtoextendkindnessandunderstandingtoyourselfratherthanbeingself-critical.Viewyourexperiencesaspartofthelargerhumanexperience.Onewaytoencouragethismightbetotakea‘helicopter’view,lookingatthingsfromtheoutsideandtakingastepbackwhenyouneedtoandbemindful,holdingyourthoughtsandfeelingsinbalanceratherthanover-identifyingwiththem(Neff,2003).Self-awarenessenablesustobeattunedwithouremotionalandphysicalwellbeing.
Everyday Self-CareEn
Engaginginevery-dayself-carecanbeagoodstartingpoint,eventhoughmostofusknowabouttheimportanceofeatinghealthyandengaginginphysicalactivity,thesethingscaneasilyslip.Awaytoremembertheseskillsistoremembertheterm‘PLEASEMASTER’:
1. Treat‘PhysicalIllness’:Takecareofyourbody.Seeadoctorwhennecessary.
2. Balanced‘Eating’:Trytoeatabalanceddietandavoideatingfoodsthatwillgiveyourushofsugarasthisoftenleadstoa‘sugarlow’whichcanleaveyoufeelinglethargicandlowinmood.Beginyourdaywithslowreleasefoodsthatwillkeepyourenergyandmetabolismstablethroughouttheday.Foodshouldnourishyourbody!
3. Avoid‘MoodAlteringDrugs’:Avoidtheuseofnon-prescribeddrugsandminimisealcoholintakeasthesesubstancescanaffectourmood.
4. Balanced‘Sleep’:Trytogettheamountofsleepthathelpsyoufeelgood.Mostadultswillneedbetween6-8hours.Keeptoasleeproutinebygoingtobedatasimilartimeandwakingupatsimilartime.
5. Get‘PhysicalExercise’:Trytoincorporatesomekindofmovementintoyourdaywhetheritbeintheformofexerciseorjusttakingawalk.Itcanburnoffexcessadrenaline,releasemood-enhancingendorphinsandhelpyousleepbetteratnight.
6. AchieveMastery:Trytodoonethingadaytomakeyourselffeelcompetentandincontrol.
Physiological:Basicphysicalrequirementslikefood,water,sleepandwarmth,whicharecriticalforsurvival.
Safety: Theneedtohavestructure,controlandorderinourlifetoinducefeelingsofsecurity.
Love/Belonging:Socialneeds:includingbeingloved,belongingandfeelingaccepted,whichcomesfromrelationshipswithothers.
Esteem:Feelingappreciatedandrespected,i.e.havingeffortsrecognisedandfeelingvalued.Thisincludesself-esteemandpersonalworth,whichcanbeachievedthroughthingslikepersonalhobbiesorworkactivities.
Self-Actualisation:Self-actualisationisahigherstateofpsychologicalwellbeingandcanonlybeachievedoncetheotherneedsinthehierarchyaremet.
Self-CareLearningandlivingalongsidechildrenwhoareaffectedbydevelopmentaltraumacantriggeruncomfortableandperhapschallengingfeelingsinourselves.Howeveraddressingthesefeelingsinourselvesisoftennotseenasapriority.Therefore,self-careisavitalcomponentofworkingwithtraumatisedchildren.Oftenwithinorganisationalcontexts,self-carecanbeneglected.Themythssurroundingself-carecanoftencontributetopeoplenotprioritisingthis,whichcanleadtoanunhelpfulcycleofblockedcareandsecondarytrauma.Examplesofthesemythsinclude:
“Puttingyourselffirstisselfish…”
“Discussingtheemotionalimpactofyourworkmakesyouweak…”
“Givingyourselftime-outmakesyoubadatyourjob…”
Movingawayfromsuchmythsandengagingingoodself-carepracticeisvitaltoallowingyoutoprocessyourownemotionalresponses(inrelationtosecondarytrauma)whichcaninturnallowyoutobemoreeffectiveinyourrolewhilstcaringorinteractingwithtraumatisedchildren.
HillcrestChildrensServices HillcrestChildr
thatweareallhumanandwecannot‘runonfumes,’weallneedtobereplenishedandtakecareofourselves.
References• Maslow,A.H.(1943).Atheoryofhumanmotivation.
Psychologicalreview,50(4),370.
• Maslow,A.H.(2013).Atheoryofhumanmotivation.SimonandSchuster.
• Newell,J.M.,&MacNeil,G.A.(2010).Professionalburnout,vicarioustrauma,secondarytraumaticstress,andcompassionfatigue.BestPracticesinMentalHealth,6(2),57-68.
• Hesse,A.R.(2002).Secondarytrauma:Howworkingwithtraumasurvivorsaffectstherapists.ClinicalSocialWorkJournal,30(3),293-309.
• Perry,B.D.(1999).Stress,trauma,andposttraumaticstressdisordersinchildren.ChildTraumaAcademyMaterials,2(5).ChildTraumaAcademyInterdisciplinaryEducationSeries.
• SelfCareQuiz-https://education.cu-portland.edu/blog/just-for-fun/quiz-new-year-resolution/
• Self-CareforChildren-https://education.cu-portland.edu/blog/classroom-resources/self-care-for-teachers/
• Self-CareChecklist-https://www.hillcrestchildrensservices.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Self-Care-Checklist.pdf
Pro-Active Self-CareYoucanalsobemoreproactiveinyourself-carebothatworkandathome.Athomepracticessuchasregularyogaormeditationcanhelptoreducethestressresponsesinyourbody.Mindfulbreathingcanalsohelpreturnyourbodytoastateofcalmandbeatimetoallowyoutoreflectuponyourday.Maintaininggeneralself-caremayalsoinvolvetheuseofpositiveformsofself-expression,suchasdrawing,painting,sculpting,cooking,oroutdooractivities(Hesse,2002).
Self-carestrategiescanalsobeimplementedwithintheworkplace.Supportingchildrencanseemlikea24hrjobhoweveritisnotyourresponsibilitytobeavailable24hoursaday;thatisaresponsibilityyousharewiththerestofyourteam.Thefollowingisalistofstepstotakebetterself-careatwork.Thinkofthisasastarterlistwhichcanbeadaptedasyoubecomeawareofyourownself-careneeds.
1. Setandmaintainprofessionalboundaries-separateworkandhomeandavoidtakingworkhomewithyou.
2. Balanceyourworkscheduleandlifedemandssonoonedayoroneweekistoomuch.
3. Maketimethroughouttheworkdayforintermittentself-carebreaks(i.e.lunchorafternoonwalk;socialtimewithco-workers;listentorelaxingmusic).
4. Createahealthyworkspaceforyourself(e.g.tidydesk,tidymind).
5. Developashortlist(2-3items)oftopprioritieseachdaywhichyoucanrealisticallyachieve.
6. Minimizeprocrastinationandmaximizeasenseofcontrol.
7. Beforecommittingtosomething,consideryourneedsandavailableresources,andwhetheritwillleadtooverextendingyourself.
Theseareallstrategiesthatyoucantakeresponsibilityforyourselfbutcanalsobeimplementedacrossyourstaffteam.Pleasefindalinktotheself-carechecklistresourcebelow.Thisisavailableforyoutoprinttothinkaboutyourownself-careactivitiesandincorporatingmoreintoyourweeklyroutine.
ConclusionCaringfortraumatisedchildrenisbothachallengingandrewardingjobbutitisimportanttorecognisethatyoucannot‘pourfromanemptycup’.Tobeabletobethebestcareroreducatorforthesechildren,youneedtobetakingcareofyourself.Thiswillnaturallyleadtoyoubeingemotionallyandphysicallyavailableforthechildrenandbetterabletowithstandthechallengesthatcomewithyourrole.Inaddition,itisalsoimportanttorecognisethatweactasrolemodelsforourchildren.Itisimportanttodemonstratetothem
HillcrestChildrensServices HillcrestChildr ©Hillcrest 2019 | SEMH Information Sheet | Issue 6
ForfurtherinformationaboutourschoolsandhomesforchildrenwithSocial,EmotionalandMentalHealth(SEMH)needs,
call:08442487187|email:[email protected]|website:www.hillcrestchildrensservices.co.uk
Spread the word...
If you found this help sheet useful please feel free to share it with anyone who you feel may benefit.
Our help sheets are produced monthly and written by our clinical team. If you would like us to cover any particular subjects around social, emotional and mental health in future editions then please let us know by emailing [email protected]
The complete series of help sheets can be found on our website: www.hillcrestchildrensservices.co.uk/clinical/resources
Recommended
