Self-Care Practices of Fresno State MSW Title IV-E Students

1. Self-Care Practices of Fresno State MSW Title IV-E Students Vanessa Cregar, MSW

2. About the Author • California State University, Fresno graduate: • BA in Sociology (2014) • Master’s of Social Work, Title IV-E (2017) • Madera County Department of Social Services, Emergency Response • Second generation public child welfare social worker • Project: Self-Care Practices of MSW Title IV-E Students

3. Why Study Self-Care? High levels of stress in graduate school Assignments, internship, working, researching, social life Encouraged self-care before entering the field High levels of stress in public child welfare Large caseload, limited support, long hours, working with vulnerable populations, etc. Effects: Secondary trauma, burnout, and turnover Encouraged to practice self-care

4. Purpose of this Study Examine the lived experiences of Title IV-E social work students who are enrolled in the Fresno State MSW program. Focused on two areas: • Stress levels during graduate school • Use of self-care to lower or better manage those stressors

5. Research Questions • What is the experience of MSW Title IV-E students at Fresno State in their experience of stress in graduate school? • What role, if any, does self-care play in the lives of MSW Title IV-E graduate students in managing stress?

6. What is Self-Care? Activities that positively contributes to their overall well-being Serves to address the individual’s social, psychological/emotional, physical, spiritual, and professional domains Benefits: Reduce stress, burnout, illness, and improve quality of service (Lee & Miller, 2013)

7. What Does Self-Care Look Like? Personal life Cooking, meditation, family and friends, psychotherapy, exercising, etc. Professional Life Take scheduled breaks and lunches, set realistic goals when it comes to completing work, and seeking guidance and support from colleagues and supervisors (Newell & Nelson-Gardell, 2014)

8. Literature Review: Stress in Graduate School • High levels of stress (Moore et al., 2011) • May not have the opportunity, skills, or time to manage their stress (Moore et al., 2011) • Students who do not learn or practice self-care are at risk for secondary trauma and possibly burnout (Newell & Nelson-Gardell, 2014) • Teaching self-care is not required by social work curriculum (Newell & Nelson-Gardell, 2014)

9. Literature Review: Stress & Self-Care in Social Work Heightened stress Risk of developing secondary trauma, contributes to burnout and turnover Encouraged to incorporate self-care to manage stress and reduce secondary trauma and burnout (Boyas et al., 2015; Salloum et al., 2015)

10. Gaps in Literature • Limited research on self-care with social work graduate students. • Has not examined different areas within social work, specifically child welfare. • Studies tend to use quantitative data.

11. Methodology Ethnicity/Race • 2:White/Caucasian • 1: Asian • 1: Hispanic Age • 3: 24 to 34 years of age • 1: 45 to 54 years of age Participants • 4 `MSW program • 2 full-time students and in their final year • 1 participant was a part-time student and in their final year • 1 participant was a full-time student in their first year

12. Methodology • One-on-one interviews • Open-ended questions • Explored their stress, self-care practices, academic assignments or seminars dedicated to self-care, and benefits and limitations of incorporating self-care • Participants picked location, signed consent form, and was provided a copy of the questions • Data analysis: transcribed and imported into NVivo, answers were placed into themed categories

13. Themes Graduate school is stressful Limited curriculum on self-care Student’s practiced self-care Student’s faced challenges incorporating of self-care

14. Graduate School is Stressful Direct Quote From Student “I would say 80% of the program was stress. You're having to deal with school, assignments, classroom time, internship and research, all of this. Plus, you have so many deadlines you have to meet and you freak out.”

15. Graduate School is Stressful Direct Quote From Student “I've has so many breakdowns. Like, mental breakdowns, just because of how much is put on your plate. Like, it’s a lot. I know I've had people tell me that the workload prepares you for your career. I can’t imagine it being that much of a plate load.”

16. Limited Curriculum on Self-Care Direct Quote From Student “I think the only time that self-care practice really happened was probably in social work 225 in our group lab. The presenter did their topic on self-care and stress management. So we did a visual meditation in class. That was helpful.”

17. Limited Curriculum on Self-Care Direct Quote From Student “Title IV-E seminar, definitely nothing comes to mind. I mean, everyone hints upon it. Like, “Hey make sure you guys do self-care.” But nothing structured and nothing really reinforced.”

18. Practicing Self-Care Direct Quote From Student “I always incorporate self-care by not doing anything really school related and kind of just like go grab coffee with like a friend or close friend of mine that I haven't seen in awhile. Cause, being a graduate student, school consumes your life… I love counseling, I love therapy… Just talking about all that stuff and talking about dealing with my mental health, the master’s program, it was super helpful.”

19. Challenges of Self-Care Direct Quote From Student “Time and time management has made it super difficult to do anything… maybe I need to find more forms of self-care, like, even just sitting and meditating. But I feel like there is not enough time in the day to do it.”

20. Implications for Social Work Practice Title IV-E • Educate students on self-care • Student’s can create a self-care plan Public Welfare Counties • Include self-care practices and support within your county • Support groups, activities to build moral, ensure • Retain new, returning, and experienced social workers

21. Thank you for the stipend opportunity!

22. References Boyas, J., Wind, L., & Ruiz, E. (2015).Exploring patterns of employee psychosocial outcomes among child welfare workers. Children and Youth Services Review, 52, 174-183. Lee, J., & Miller, S. (2013). A self-care framework for social workers: Building a strong foundation for practice. Families in Society:The Journal of Contemporary Social Services, 94(2), 96-103. Moore, S., Bledsoe, L., Perry, A., & Robinson, M. (2011). Social work students and self-care: A model assignment for teaching. Journal of Social Work Education, 47(3), 545-553. Newell, J., & Nelson-Gardell, D. (2014). A competency-based approach to teaching professional self-care: An ethical consideration for social work educators. Journal of Social Work Education, 50(3),427-439. Salloum, A., Kondrat, D., Johnco, C., & Olson, K. (2015). The role of self-care on compassion satisfaction, burnout and secondary trauma among child welfare workers. Children and Youth Services Review, 49, 54-61.