How Social Workers Can Increase Their Resiliency
It’s tempting to thinking that successful social workers consistently leave work at the office, internship, and even the classroom but we know that’s often the exception and not the rule. The ability to successfully manage high levels of stress over an extended period of time can make the difference in the career of social workers.
A mixed-method study published in Australian Social Work looked at the role of a well-researched treatment called Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) in helping social workers to build or maintain resiliency. A total of fourteen social workers (a mix of BSW and MSW level social workers) participated in this research. Rachael Crowder and Alexandra Sears looked at the effectiveness of a mindfulness-based approach to help build resilience, increase self-compassion, and reduce professional burn-out. None of the participants indicated that they had previous mindfulness experience.
The intervention took place over a period of eight weeks in a group setting. Each session was 2.5 hours and there was a day-long session that was conducted between weeks 5 and 6.
Using the standard MBSR curriculum created by Jon Kabat-Zinn and Saki Santorelli, the researchers found that participants, “… did not perceive themselves as burnt out, felt they were better able to handle stress, and had a sense of renewed energy, well-being, and hopefulness,” at the end of the intervention.
The authors concluded that a mindfulness intervention may be beneficial to social workers who are looking for ways to manage professional stress more effectively.
Additional Information and Resources:
A Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Workbook by Bob Stahl and Elisha Goldstein
Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Program at the University of Massachusetts Medical School
Crowder, R. & Sears, A. (2017). Building resilience in social workers: An exploratory study on the impacts of a mindfulness-based intervention. Australian Social Work, 70(1).