Self–Compassion as Self-Care: A Simple and Effective Tool for Counselor Educators and Counseling Students

ABSTRACT

This article explores teaching self-compassion as a means of self-care for counseling graduate students. Self-care is vital to helping professionals, but few students learn specific self-care skills to integrate into their own self-care practice. Self-compassion is a simple practice used in the immediate moment or as an activity at home. The authors describe Kristen Neff’s model of self-compassion. The authors discuss the benefits of self-compassion as self-care and explain its practice as an effective avenue to increase compassion and relationship building with clients. In addition, they clarify how self-compassion practices strengthen relational connection. The writers describe three examples of self-care practices, and share suggestions for counselor educators to integrate self-care into graduate counselor training.

KEYWORDS:

• Compassion
• counselor education
• creativity in counseling
• mindfulness
• relational-cultural theory
• self-care
• self-compassion

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Jill R. Nelson

Jill R. Nelson is an Associate Professor in the School of Education and the Associate Dean in the College of Human Development and Education at North Dakota State University, Fargo, North Dakota.

Brenda S. Hall

Brenda S. Hall is a Professor in the School of Education at North Dakota State University in Fargo, North Dakota.

Jamie L. Anderson

Jamie L. Anderson is a doctoral student in the School of Education at North Dakota State University in Fargo, North Dakota.

Cailen Birtles

Cailen Birtles is a doctoral candidate in the School of Education at North Dakota State University in Fargo, North Dakota.

Lynae Hemming

Lynae Hemming is a doctoral student in the School of Education at North Dakota State University in Fargo, North Dakota.