Protecting others from ourselves: self-care in social work educators

ABSTRACT

Self-care is a trending topic in social work, both in the professional workplace and the social work curriculum. There is an imperative that newly minted social workers, and their seasoned peers, cultivate self-care practices that can help minimize or avoid the risks related to the human services workplace. Social work programs in higher education are on the front lines of delivering self-care content to students in preparation for their transition to the workplace so that those they serve are protected from workers who are burnt out. But how do social worker educators and their higher education institutions practice and support self-care? Social work educators’ role extends beyond the delivery of course content because they also model the implementation of social work knowledge, values, and skills. This research sheds light on the self-care practices of social work educators, what supports and undermines their self-care, and how their institutions support self-care. Results show that social work educators rely most heavily on psychological and physical self-care. Participants identified a range of supportive factors and barriers to self-care. Areas of future research and implications for social work curriculum are discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• Social work
• higher education
• self-care
• workplace risks
• stress management

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Karen Myers

Karen Myers, MSW, JD, teaches practice courses in the BSW program at James Madison University. She also enjoys regularly teaching an elective on working with LGBTQIAP+ people. She uses qualitative research methods to explore diversity issues and self-care practices.

Elisa Martin

Dr. Elisa Martin teaches in the BSW practice sequence at Siena College as well as two electives: Feeling Stressed? Try Nature, and Self-Care for Future Professionals. Her research is focused on professional self-care.

Kirstiana Brickman

Kirstiana Brickman administers neuropsychological testing batteries to children with neurodevelopmental disorders. She assists in research on professional self-care.