Self-Care for Mental Health Professionals ((1))

Catalog description

This course is designed to prepare individuals who are entering the counseling profession with information as it pertains to compassion fatigue, vicarious trauma, burnout, and self-care. The instructor will use historical information, peer-reviewed research, neurophysiological, philosophical, legal, ethical, and theoretical perspectives, with an emphasis on trauma work. Effects of the counseling profession on the professional will be examined through readings, written lecture, and recorded demonstrations. The purpose of this course is to enhance individuals¿ awareness of the primary methods of the development of compassion fatigue and/or vicarious trauma, as well as how to manage it during work in the counseling profession. The course will provide didactic and experiential learning opportunities, exploring the various theories and practical approaches to the treatment of compassion fatigue and vicarious trauma. The instructor will focus on research-supported counseling strategies and techniques, as well as the less empirical/tangible elements of this unique form of human encounter. Prerequisite: graduate conditionally classified.