The Importance of Self-Care when Working with Traumatised ......avoid eating foods that will give you rush of sugar as this often leads to a ‘sugar low’ which can leave you feeling

• 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.

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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:info@hillcrestcs.co.uk|website:www.hillcrestchildrensservices.co.uk

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