In this discussion, you will define and apply some concepts from this module’s required reading. You will also practice assessing your own self-care needs and creating self-care plans for yourself and for a family. In your initial post, please complete all of the following.
Part A.
In your own words (and drawing upon the reading), describe some of the possible negative effects that a person who works with traumatized children might experience. Next, describe some of the positive aspects of helping children who have experienced trauma.
Part B.
Complete this self-care assessment. (You do not need to share your specific answers.)
Use this template to create a self-care plan for the coming 3 months.
Finally, post what you have learned or any insights you have gained about your own self-care needs. How might creating a self-care plan help you in your current or future work and life (whether or not you work with traumatized children)?
Part C.
Imagine a family that has experienced trauma or toxic stress. (If you aren’t familiar with a family, you can use this case study instead.) Briefly describe the challenges and strengths of the family.
Create a family self-care plan based on what you know about that family.
Please be sure to respond to at least two classmates’ posts, as well.
Please respond to Tali:
There are positives and negatives to working with traumatized children. Negatives to working with these patients is that it can be very stressful and upsetting for the child of course but also for the worker. For workers to best prevent burnout and negative effects from this line of work they must make sure to maintain their personal needs and not take on these kids’ emotional stress. âTo prevent burnout, it is crucial to engage in self-care. Self- care is the ability to attend to oneâs own needs so as to promote physical and emotional well-being.â (Mayo Clinic, n.d.) The positive to working with traumatized children is that you are able to help them to grow and success. You are with them every step of the way to watch them overcome what they have been through.
In creating the self- care assessment and plan, it has helped me to see where I am doing well and where I could improve in my self-care. It helped to brainstorm new ways of self-care and helped me to look at what is or isnât working for me. A self- care plan may help me in my future because it is a way for me to make sure that I am allowing enough time for my mental health while working with traumatized children or not it could still be helpful to make sure I am taking care of myself.
My friend’s family adopted her nephew because the biological mom was doing drugs and not able to take care of him. This was a big shift for my friend’s family. My friend and her sister were in high school so this meant her mom would be starting over and raising another kid. This was something that required a lot of support from family and friends as my friend’s mom still had to work a full-time job and now had an infant. To limit the stress of the new baby on the family they needed a plan. The plan consisted of family and friend support while raising the baby. The plan allowed for everyone to have time to do something that they enjoyed and that they were able to do before the baby. This way everyone was still able to do what they enjoyed and nobody was getting burnt out by the new baby.
Please respond to Gabriella:
As professionals, we take on a lot and carry the burden of wanting to help and do more and if we donât succeed instantly, often at times we are hard on ourselves and neglect our own thoughts and needs and feel as if we failed the child. We have to understand that as everything else, things take time and when we see a positive outcome it is a very rewarding feeling
My self-care assessment results did not come as a shock to me. To narrow it down, I often get so caught up with daily stresses of life and âforgetâ to eat leaving me eating once a day, usually dinner or picking on a snack before bed, I do love to exercise especially when I am extremely overwhelmed or stressed, it relaxes me and forces me to zone out in the moment. Scheduling self-care time which primarily means doing something thatâs Soley for you and your own enjoyment whether it be shopping, getting your nails done, a walk in the park is necessary. We use the excuse of there ânot being enough hours in a dayâ but I believe, âwhere there’s a will, there’s a wayâ.
I recently learned of a family that came to America, was out of touch with their family in America and ended up homeless and sleeping in the bushes at different parks every night in the brutal winter NY months. As a school community everyone did all they could to help, including donating clothing and food, finding shelter and the best, reuniting them with their family in America. The children receive counseling because I can imagine the traumatic effects that they had with sleeping in a park, not having access to bathrooms or showers or everything they were used to back in their home country. Luckily, the children are doing well, are social and happier from what they were a month ago. They expressed how happy they were to see so many people carrying about them, and the little girl loves all her new cloths that were donated.
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