Replenishing the Wellspring: Exploring Counselor Wellness and Resiliency

1. Replenishing the Wellspring: Exploring Counselor Wellness and Resiliency Melissa Jaworowski Veronica Fair Shawna Augherton Katie Sepanski

2. Why is wellness important for counselors? “It is not possible to give to others what you do not possess” (Corey, 2000)

3. Why is wellness important for counselors? • Counselor effectiveness depends more on the personal characteristics of counselors than on school, training, or theory (Hanna, & Bemak, 1997). • Personal wellness, therefore, has an impact on counselor effectiveness with students (Skovholt, 2001).

4. Wellness defined • “Wellness is the hallmark characteristic of those whose lives achieve the balance between self, life, and others”—Witmer & Granello 2005 • “Wellness is both . . . an overarching goal for living and a day-by-day, minute-by-minute way of being”—Myers & Sweeney 2005

5. Why Wellness Is an Issue • Well-counselors are more likely to produce well-clients • Modeling • Better able to Connect • More attentive to emotional and cognitive content • More energy and creativity in dealing with students • Less likely to violate boundaries

6. What is wellness? • Analogy of the well • A well sustains itself with a continuous flow of water when it has sources and is regularly replenished (Milsum, 1984). • Without a reserve, the well dries up quickly and is no longer able to sustain. Well human beings must have reserves because overall wellness depends far more on these reserves than on performance at any given moment (Milsum, 1984).

7. Replenishing the wellspring • What replenishes your wellspring and sustains your resiliency? • What helps to fill your reserve? • What do you do to unwind at the end of the day? • What brings you satisfaction and joy? • What helps you derive meaning from your work?

8. Definition of impairment Impairment occurs when there is a significant negative impact on a counselor’s professional functioning which compromises student care or poses the potential for harm to the student. Impairment may be due to: • Substance abuse or chemical dependency • Mental illness • Personal crisis (traumatic events or vicarious trauma, burnout, life crisis) • Physical illness or debilitation

9. Wellness Spectrum Well Stressed Distressed Impaired

10. Models of Wellness: A Holistic Focus • Professional Wellness involves: • Balance • Boundaries/Limit setting • Getting support • Strategies for coping • Professional training • Evaluation of own healing • Replenishment

11. Models of Wellness: A Holistic Focus • Environmental (Work Setting) Wellness involves: • The Physical work setting • Value system of work place • Job tasks & Personnel Guidelines • Supervisory/Management support • Collegiality

12. Special Risks Challenges to WellnessSkovholt 2001 • Our inability to say no-The treadmill effect • Living in an Ocean of Emotional Stress • Constant Empathy, Interpersonal Sensitivity, and One-Way Caring

13. When Wellness is Eroded Burnout Compassion Fatigue Vicarious Traumatization

14. BurnoutMaslach, Jackson, & Leiter, 1996 • Emotional exhaustion, depersonalization & reduced feelings of personal accomplishment • Typically attributed to work environment or job choice • Vacation or a job change helps considerably

15. Compassion fatigueFigley 1995 • “A function of bearing witness to the suffering of others” • Feeling deep sympathy for another’s suffering—and a desire to alleviate the pain • Professional Quality of Life Assessment (ProQOL)—www.proqol.org

16. Vicarious Traumatization Experiencing the trauma our students have suffered, or recalling our own past traumas due to the exposure through our students. Pearlman and Saakvitne, 1995

17. When Wellness is Eroded And then the most insidious of challenges…. LIFE

18. What We Know About Counselor Impairment from the ACA Task Force’s Research • Survey of the ACA Membership Most counselors have known a counselor they would consider impaired (63.5%)In those cases Supervisors (54.3%) and Colleagues (64.2%) were also aware of the impairmentIn most cases the impaired counselor did not receive disciplinary (77.8%) action or therapeutic intervention (73.7%)

19. Wellness Spectrum Well Stressed Distressed Impaired When asked about their own wellness ACA members reported: 81% - Well 15% - Stressed 4% - Distressed 0% - Impaired

20. Wellness Spectrum Well Stressed Distressed Impaired When asked about their colleagues wellness ACA members reported: 47% - Well 33% - Stressed 12% - Distressed 4% - Impaired

21. Counselor Caseloads

22. Maintaining Counselor Wellness Support Through Personal Counseling 83% of counselors have sought personal counseling

23. Career Sustaining Behaviors Top 5 CSBs Maintain sense of humor Spend time with partner/family Maintain balance between professional and personal lives Maintain self-awareness Maintain sense of control over work responsibilities

24. Career Sustaining Behaviors Bottom 7 CSBs Discuss work frustrations with spouse/partner/family Engage in formal relaxation activities Receive regular clinical supervision Participate in personal therapy Participate in peer support groups Discuss work frustrations with friends Use substances to relax.

25. Career Sustaining Behaviors CSBs Practiced by the Most Satisfied Counselors Reaching Out Participate in personal therapy Discuss work frustrations with friends Participate in peer support groups Receive regular supervision

26. Work Related Strategies Read literature to keep up to date Participate in continuing education Maintain professional identity Maintain sense of control over work responsibilities Try to maintain objectivity about students

27. Wellness Strategies Across Domains Physical Cognitive Emotional Social Spiritual Balance

28. Physical Wellness • Good nutrition • Exercise—Finding activities you enjoy • Routine medical care • Adequate sleep • Movement/stretching during the day

29. Physical Wellness • The impact of stress on physical health • Strategies to reduce stress • Deep breathing • Meditation • Setting limits

30. Cognitive Wellness Definition from Travis & Ryan (2004): • The individual’s capacity for insight, intelligent thought, and creative problem-solving. • Awareness of one’s thoughts and the interrelationship between thinking and perception, feelings, body states, and behavior. • Ability to focus and concentrate, think affirming thoughts, and transform counter-productive thinking patterns.

31. Cognitive wellness • Identifying self talk • Countering counter-productive internalized messages • Addressing perfectionism • Learning to be kind to ourselves

32. Cognitive wellness • Calming one’s mind • Engaging one’s mind • Reading professional literature • Taking a course • Hobbies • Travel • Getting perspective

33. Cognitive wellness • Celebrating successes • Noticing small positives • Sharing victories in supervision • Keeping a success journal • Creating a “thank you” folder/file

34. Emotional wellness Definition from Travis & Ryan (2004): An individual’s awareness and acceptance of their emotions as well as their ability to experience a full range of emotions and find constructive ways to express them. Reflected in a person’s ability to cry, experience joy, accept compliments, acknowledge their fears, say no without feeling guilty, and openly express feelings of love.

35. Emotional wellness Ways to nurture emotional wellness: • Tuning in to our emotions • Expressing our emotions

36. Emotional wellness • Tuning in to emotion • Not escape/avoidance • Acknowledging our feelings • Spending time with animals • Spending time with healthy individuals • Watching movies and reading books • Spending time in connection & conversation

37. Emotional wellness • Expressing the whole range of emotions • Sadness, anger, joy, pride, disappointment, grief, frustration, happiness, fear, love, etc. • Laughter • Crying • Talking • Writing • Music

38. Interpersonal Wellness • Prioritizing time with people we love • Being authentic & spontaneous in our interactions with people • Ability to ask for and receive support

39. Interpersonal Wellness • Spend time with partner, family, and friends • Surround yourself with people whose energy is uplifting • Limit one-way caring relationships • Share both your challenges and your joys

40. Spiritual wellness • A sense of interconnectedness and/or connection to something greater than yourself • “Whatever deeply touches and accesses a person’s soul is his or her religion.”—Bradford Keeney 2005 • The importance of meaning • What do you find meaningful? • How can you focus on meaning in your work?

41. Spiritual wellness • Prayer • Meditation • Qi Gong, Tai Chi, Yoga • Quiet time for self-reflection • Time in nature • Join a spiritual community • Read spiritual writings

42. Wellness in the workplace • Challenges across setting • Building a professional support network • Daily practices that promote wellness • Strategies within the day • Strategies when meeting with students • Balance within the workday and week • Dare to vision the “Best of all possible worlds”

43. Balance • Balance and variety in work-related tasks • Balance within each day and week • Balance between work and leisure • Sufficient time with family and friends

44. RESOURCES: • www.counselorwellness.com • www.theresiliencycenter.com • http://www.counseling.org/wellness_taskforce/index.htm • http://compassionfatigue.org/