Wholistic self-care for the social worker: a qualitative study positioning “the physical” in an Indigenous model of care practices for social workers
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Date
2019-08
Authors
Woodward, Heather
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Abstract
My research explored the wholistic health and self-care (wellness) practices of ethnically diverse female social workers in Manitoba, Canada. This qualitative research study specifically explored how positioning the physical realm of health within Indigenous spirituality practices can benefit and promote the development of wholistic health and self-care practices for social workers. This research study used a Medicine Wheel model to create a physical well-being intervention program combined with Indigenous spirituality to address balance and wholistic self-care practices for social workers.
This study encouraged 13 women-identified participants to explore their personal stories of wholistic self-care. Participants completed pre-interviews prior to the physical intervention start date to assess their current knowledge of wholistic self-care, if and how they were currently practicing self-care, and to identify the challenges and barriers to self-care. The physical wellness intervention included ten sessions, took place one day per week, and included the following wellness activities: yoga, fitness classes, Ojibwe Full Moon Ceremony, Indigenous Sweat Lodge, beading and kickboxing. Each wellness activity began with a “check-in circle” and smudging ceremony and closed with a “check-out circle”. Each wellness activity was facilitated by the appropriate leader (further described below). A guided program and space was created for women in the social work profession to allow them to acknowledge their personal and professional stressors and to increase wholistic self-care practices to cope with and prevent burn out, compassion fatigue and vicarious trauma. To close the study, post-interviews were completed by all participants to capture each of their individual stories and intervention experiences. The interviews gave space for the women to capture the benefits and lessons that they learned, or to acknowledge challenges with participation and with self-care. The pre- and post-interviews were used to tell the stories of the participants and their journey of wholistic self-care and wellness. This research supported the participants to continue doing their “heart” work (social work) of helping children, youth, adults and families while providing a consistent, safe space to explore their personal and professional balance as helpers and practice their own wholistic self-care practices.
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Keywords
Self-care, social workers, wholistic self-care, wellbeing, burnout, compassion fatigue, vicarious trauma, helping profession, wholistic health, Indigenous spirituality, Indigenous ceremony
Citation
APA