Is This Self Care? DRAFT

Session Description

BurSelf-care is an ethical imperative for mental health professionals. To care for ourselves we tend to, or are encouraged to, engage in activities that give us “a break” from the stresses of our clinical work. These activities can include watching TV, exercising, going for walks, engaging in meditative practices, gardening, playing video games, etc. Sometimes these oases are necessary to rest or to put our minds on something different, to then feel recharged and ready to re-engage in our deeply demanding work. These activities, however, can become forms of avoidance coping, which can momentarily decrease our anxiety but can maintain it in the long run by contributing to recurrent cycles of avoidance and anxiety. In this presentation, we will reflect on the ways in which we engage in self-care, consider their actual effectiveness, and contemplate some alternatives. Participants will be introduced to the concepts of avoidance coping and…