Promoting self care for trauma awareness: a piloted teaching module for beginning generalist practice

Abstract

ABSTRACT Education in self care is a core focus for beginning generalist social work trainees to boost trauma awareness, or the ability to recognize and respond to emotional responses from direct practice with clients with a history of trauma, and oppression,as well as for diminishing worker burnout. This paper presents a description and assessment of an asynchronous teaching module comprised of a video lecture, quiz and assignment piloted with beginning graduate-level social work students in the United States to situate self care as a component of professional development toward trauma-informed and ethical care. The module aimed to translate knowledge and skills in self care directly to practice and framed targets of self care including emotional regulation, and meaning-making. It provided students opportunities to identify self care practices at the individual level on their own, as well as agency-based self care practices in consultation with their field supervisors. The module was piloted with 57 master’s students enrolled in beginning generalist practice courses and the outcomes of a survey and thematic analysis suggests it warrants consideration as a tool for promoting competency regarding self care in an asynchronous, easily transportable format for online or hybrid learning.