The recruitment industry has a saying: “you can train a hen to crow but it is probably easier to hire a rooster”. Perhaps this is also applicable to the adoption of self-care practices and reduction of burnout experienced by OoHC/YJ workers, i.e. perhaps we should recruit people who already undergo self-care practices or are resilient to burnout. The results The…
This is the penultimate post in the series that reviews the evidence for prevention of burnout in OoHC and YJ workers. This and the next post will attempt to summarise ‘what works’ in preventing burnout. The results The previous studies (click here and here) suggest that self-care and trauma-informed self-care strategies have a positive effect, but do not impact on…
Today’s post continues the series on the causes of job burnout and turnover of staff in OoHC and YJ roles. The last post reviewed the impact of trauma informed self-care on burnout. This study1 looks at the impact of job demands on burnout. As with previous posts, this study reviews the causes of burnout in child welfare workers in the…
This peer reviewed study examines the impact of a program titled Trauma Informed Self Care (TISC) on compassion satisfaction, secondary trauma and burnout in child welfare workers in the US (i.e. child protection workers in Australia). Workers’ propensity to engage in self-care activities was assessed using a 14-item self-report instrument called Trauma Informed Self Care (TISC) – see sidebar.…
Summary of this peer reviewed study1 Residential, foster care and juvenile justice workers are subject to considerable stress in their roles, therefore the sector experiences high turnover. It has long been suggested that improved self-care will result in less stressed workers, less turnover and less burnout (resulting in fewer Workcover claims). This US study investigates how frequently child welfare staff…
Victorian Legal Aid (VLA) recently released a report titled Care Not Custody: A new approach to keep kids in residential care out of the criminal justice system. In reviewing this report my aim was not to say ‘Kafkaesque’ or ‘Catch 22’ or make any reference to the TV shows ‘Yes Minister’ (for you older Practitioners) or ‘Utopia’ (for younger Practitioners).…
Self-harming is common amongst young people in OoHC, youth justice and alternative school settings. As noted in my last post, I just love a succinct summary of the evidence of the causes and treatment of mental health issues. Today’s post provides such a summary on the causes and interventions for self-harm. This YouTube video, called Self Injury Knowledge and Skills…
Call me nerdy if you like, but I get excited when I come across a single book that gathers together all the evidence in an area that is of interest to me. Evidence Based Skills in Criminal Justice: International research on supporting rehabilitation and desistance is one such book. It brings together the evidence on how individual practice might…
Day 2: International Child Trauma Conference 2018 Yesterday I attended Peter Fongy’s masterclass on Mentalisation Based Therapy (MBT) Who is Peter Fonagy? Peter is a psychologist with special interests in the neurobiology of attachment, working with violent young men and people with personality disorders. He has authored over 300 peer reviewed articles. You can read a short version of…
I am at the 3rd International Childhood International Trauma Conference in Melbourne. The conference brings together international leaders in the field of trauma and trauma recovery. The aim is to distill information that might be relevant to Practitioners be they foster carers, resi-worker workers, case managers or JJ workers etc. A big task! The conference runs for five and half…