Facing secondary traumatic stress: 4 self-care strategies for child welfare professionals

It’s Workforce Development and Appreciation Month, and it also happens to be Self-Care Month. (September also boasts “Fall Hat Month” and “Classical Music Month,” but we’ll leave those to the experts.)

At CWEL, we think that the overlap of workforce appreciation and self-care makes a lot of sense. After all, what is more important than your well-being as you do the important work of child welfare?

Self-care requires a nuanced discussion. And at CWEL, we’re more interested in mutual care—how our communities care for one another and help lighten each other’s load. But if you find yourself without a solid organizational support system, self-care is a good place to start.

In this article, you’ll learn about what secondary traumatic stress is and how to recognize the symptoms. Then, I outline 4 components that are key to caring for yourself.

What is secondary traumatic stress (STS)?

Secondary traumatic stress refers to the emotional distress experienced by individuals who hear about or are exposed to trauma. Notably, the trauma in this case is primarily experienced by someone else.

For professionals who work in high-stress environments—such as therapists, first responders, social workers, and healthcare professionals—secondary traumatic stress is common. And it can expose individuals to compromised professional functioning and a diminished quality of life.

The symptoms of STS

There are five symptoms of secondary traumatic stress to look for in your life, including:

• Compassion fatigue, or a gradual decline in the ability to empathize with others.
• Emotional distress, which can include a range of experiences, including overwhelming sadness, anxiety, irritability, mood swings, and intrusive thoughts.
• Physical symptoms like headaches, fatigue, and insomnia.
• Avoidance behaviors, which are a coping strategy to distance you from distress. This can look like showing up to work later and later each day or continuing to reschedule appointments.
• Decreased job satisfaction that may result in being more cynical and having less hope. And if you see less hope, or are more cynical, how are you going to be capable of planting the seeds of hope and resilience in the families that you touch?

If you recognize these symptoms, you’re not alone. Below are key components to care for yourself, informed by people who have worked in child welfare and experienced secondary traumatic stress.

1. Self-efficacy and confidence

Believing in your own ability to cope with life’s challenges is vital. Recognize your strengths. Set actionable goals. Celebrate successes.

Once, when I had a blended unit of investigators, in-home service providers, and foster care/permanency workers, we discussed ways to stay energized through reflection and positive self-talk. One of my staff members shared that she kept a self-talk and reflection journal in her car.

In between visits, she would set aside a couple of minutes and open her journal, writing down things that went well. This small act really recharged her batteries; when she faced hurdles, she’d remind herself of things that had gone well in the past, so disappointments didn’t hit so hard.

A journal may work for you, too. That said, building self-efficacy will be multifaceted. You’ll have to set goals that allow you to focus on your strengths and achievements instead of what’s going wrong or is out of your control.

A helpful strategy may also be asking for feedback from others on things you’re doing well and for constructive feedback to improve. If there is someone you work with who appears to thrive in an area where you struggle, connect with them and ask questions about their process. That is how to add more tools to your toolbox to ensure you’re successful along your journey.

2. Work/life: that ever-elusive balance

Has anyone out there aced this yet? If so, please do tell!

No, but seriously, this is all about creating clear (or at least slightly less murky) boundaries between your work and your professional life.

For one, consider limited exposure debriefs. This is an agreement to give your colleagues only the basic information needed for the purposes of the conversation about a family’s situation.

Additionally, define specific work hours and commit to not working outside of these hours. When I’m off, I turn off my phone to truly disconnect. I know people in our space have resorted to nighttime and weekend work, which isn’t safe or healthy. And, if you’re an administrator, you’ve got to figure out how to create more balance for your teams.

In a system where we have little control over many things, we should focus on the areas where we do have control.

3. Resilience skills

I’ve had some coworkers in the past who stood out for having great coping skills that made them good with boundaries. These individuals dealt with change and hard stuff a little bit better than others on the team, and I think we can all learn from people like that.

So how do you start to develop and build out your resilient skill set?

• Identify your stressors. Are there certain parts of the work you’re avoiding? Look at why that might be, and ask your supervisor and team for support in carrying out the work.
• Get connected and seek support through strong relationships with coworkers and in your personal life. It’s about both emotional support and practical assistance.
• Debrief the most challenging experiences regularly. Debriefing, sharing, and gathering insight is a critical tool for resolving issues and mitigating burnout.

4. Professional help

How many times have we referred children to clinicians for help in emotional regulation? Those same skills are necessary for us as child welfare professionals because if you’re under stress and out of sorts, the decisions you make for children and families will be compromised.

Learning emotional regulation skills or coping skills is critical. It will help you manage your emotions effectively. You may find success looking into meditation, grounding techniques from CBT, and self-compassion methods.

Self-compassion

So much of our work with children and families is extending grace to others, including our community partners. But that compassion you have for others, you also have to extend to yourself.

I sometimes would say to people that I supervised or worked with, “How would you talk to your 4-year-old self right now?” When they were in the midst of saying, “I can’t believe I forgot that deadline,” and they were beating up on themselves, I would say, “If your 4-year-old self was standing here, would you be this critical? Would you be this raw, this hard?”

We know this work is hard. It can be draining and require things of ourselves we didn’t even know we had until we executed it for someone else.

Offer yourself grace and patience, and you’ll be able to stay in the game a lot longer.

Finally, consider seeing a therapist

Once I started seeing a therapist as a child welfare professional, things got a little lighter: I was able to keep the families’ experiences in perspective and to be mindful of the circles of control.

For some people in helping roles, there is a sense that they should already have their stuff together. However, seeking professional support will help with stress. It will help you develop coping skills, regulate your emotions, and find meaning and purpose.

Let me say one more time: This work is hard. Offer yourself grace and patience, and you’ll be able to help families for a lot longer.