Self-Care for Field-Based Outreach Workers
Overview
Studies show that 83% of U.S. workers suffer from work-related stress, with 25% naming their job as the number one stressor in their lives (The American Institute of Stress, 2022). These rates are even higher for individuals in social service settings due to factors such as emotional labor and the traumatic realities that clients may face. These factors place outreach workers at higher risk for work-related traumatic stress. Therefore, it is vital that field-based outreach workers are equipped with the knowledge and tools needed to understand how work-related stress develops and self-care practices to combat it. This training will define and explore concepts related to work-related stress such as burnout, vicarious trauma, and the physiological impacts of chronic and/or traumatic stress. Participants will discuss the history of self-care, its roots in radical community movements, and how it relates to field-based outreach workers. Participants will learn a plethora of self-care practices using a holistic approach, and will have work time to create an individualized wellness plan for themselves using learned self-care practices. This training is intended for field-based mental health and outreach workers in Los Angeles County. Anytime session recorded on October 16, 2023.
Learning objectives
- Highlight statistics and trends regarding worked-related stress across professions, as well as specifically within the mental health field
- Discuss work-related situations that can trigger traumatic stress and the impact it can have on the brain, body, and emotional wellbeing
- Define burnout, vicarious trauma, and compassion fatigue as it relates to mental health service delivery
- Discuss the history of self-care, its roots in radical community movements, and how the model can be applied to mental health service delivery
- Review common self-care practices using a holistic approach
- Engage in work time to create an individualized wellness plan