Self-Care Summer: Self-Care - Choice or Chore?

by Elissa T. Mitchell, MS, MSW, Ph.D., and Kathy Elpers, MSW, Ed.D,. LCSW, LMFT, ACSW

     The concept of self-care is familiar in social work education. Faculty teach self-care as a way to deal with stress, promote well-being, and prevent burnout and compassion fatigue. The importance of self-care is implied in the NASW Code of Ethics (NASW, 2017) in Standard 4.05. As stated in the Code, “Social workers should not allow their own personal problems, psychosocial distress, legal problems, substance abuse, or mental health difficulties to interfere with their professional judgment and performance or to jeopardize the best interests of people for whom they have a professional responsibility” (NASW, 2017).  Self-care is also implied in the Council on Social Work Education’s competencies and supported by NASW (NASW, 2009). 

     In their recent book, Cox and Steiner (2013) write about self-care myths along with strategies for practitioners, supervisors, and agencies. Self-care is “touted as a necessary prerequisite to service delivery that is compassionate, ethical and effective” (p. 39).  Nevertheless, they also caution that self-care activities are a starting point to managing stress; other factors such as self-awareness and reflection are also necessary.  Although the literature offers a smorgasbord of self-care activities ranging from exercise and healthy eating, to sleep and meditation, to leisure activities, to laughter and spending time with friends, there is no one-size-fits-all. Take some time to review some of The New Social Worker self-care summer resources, and think about how you might integrate self-care into your life. 

     True self-care is about being reflective and aware of your physical, mental, and emotional state. Self-care does not mean shirking your responsibilities. It should be seen as a required part of the job for social workers, not something you’re taking off work to do. It doesn’t just mean getting a massage, manicure, or facial – although these things may be beneficial to you. Self-care can be as simple as taking time out to check in with yourself, to think about ways to improve your current work and routine, or to reconnect with those you care about. If you had a client, student, or colleague who was overstressed or experiencing burnout, you would likely tell them to take care of themselves before taking care of others. Take your own advice!

     We, as social workers, need to understand why self-care is so important and make a committed choice to incorporate it in our daily lives. If self-care becomes just another chore on our list, another thing we have to do, then it’s easier to skip and push down the list of priorities.  However, if we see self-care as a choice – a choice we are consciously making to improve or enhance our well-being and to become a more competent and ethical social worker - then we are more likely to incorporate it in our daily routine.

     We find time for the things we want and choose to do.  If we see self-care as a chore and do it just to “check it off the list,” we are not reaping the full benefits of self-care.  Make a choice to invest in yourself.

References

Cox, K., & Steiner, S. (2013). Self-care in social work. Washington, DC: NASW Press.

National Association of Social Workers (NASW). (2009). Professional self-care policy. In Social work speaks: National Association of Social Workers policy statements 2009-2012 (8th ed., pp. 268-272). Washington, DC: NASW Press.

National Association of Social Workers (NASW). (2017). Code of ethics of the National Association of Social Workers. Washington, DC: NASW Press. Retrieved from https://www.socialworkers.org/About/Ethics/Code-of-Ethics/Code-of-Ethics-English.

Resources

     In addition to the references cited in this article, here is a brief list of resources to help get you started thinking about your own self-care:

• Bent-Goodley, T.B. (2018). Being intentional about self-care for social workers. Social Work, 63(1), 5-6.
• Diaconescu, M. (2015). Burnout, secondary trauma, and compassion fatigue in social work. Social Work Review, 14(3), 57-63.
• Grise-Owens, E., Miller, J., & Eaves, M. (2016). The A-to Z self-care handbook for social workers and other helping professionals. Harrisburg, PA: The New Social Worker Press.
• Lee, J.J., & Miller, S.E. (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.
• University at Buffalo School of Social Work Self-Care Starter Kit. Available at http://socialwork.buffalo.edu/resources/self-care-starter-kit.html

Elissa T. Mitchell, MS, MSW, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of Social Work at the University of Southern Indiana, where she also serves as the Director of the Center for Social Justice Education. She enjoys teaching introductory and foundation courses, as well as policy and macro social work.

Kathy Elpers, Ed.D., LCSW, ACSW, MSW, LMFT, is Professor of Social Work at the University of Southern Indiana, Evansville, IN. She teaches mindfulness and self-care in her courses.