Six domains of self-care: Attending to the whole person

ABSTRACT

Self-care has long been of concern to helping professionals at risk for burnout or vicarious traumatization. In this paper we argue that the need for self-care is broader than preventing these outcomes. Instead, it requires consideration of the whole person and mindful attention and intentional efforts to achieve two general aims: to guard against or manage stress and other negative states, and to maintain or enhance well-being and overall functioning. We propose and delineate six life domains—physical, professional, relational, emotional, psychological, and spiritual—that may require attention in each person’s self-care practice, and briefly summarize some empirical findings that support self-care practices within each. We observe that self-care practice in each domain is closely bound to practice and outcomes of other domains. Steps in developing an overall self-care plan, including both maintenance and emergency practices, are also outlined. Because we believe that self-care is not a one-size-fits-all pursuit, we contend that helping professionals would benefit from examining each area of their life, and defining for themselves what self-care means and how they plan to implement their own personal practice. Above all, self-care requires a commitment to one’s own well-being as a priority.     

Index of Authors Volume 56, 2001

Authors Index

Index of Authors Volume 56, 2001     

A sexual assault primary prevention model with diverse urban youth

In this study, a nonprofit community mental health clinic developed a socioecological model of sexual abuse prevention that was implemented in a public school. The goal of the program was to promote and create community change within individuals and the school community by reducing tolerance of sexual violence and sexual harassment. Participants were 5th-12th graders at a school from a Midwest city. Completed measures were obtained from 202 students, and a quasiexperimental time series research design was developed to evaluate the effectiveness of the prevention program. The program was found to be effective at increasing participant's knowledge of sexual abuse, awareness of school and community sexual assault support resources, and identification of components of healthy and unhealthy relationships.     

Diet of Florida coyotes in a protected wildland and suburban habitat

Coyotes (Canis latrans) arrived to Florida (USA) in the 1960s and are currently found throughout most of the state. The purpose of this study was to determine if the diet of Florida coyotes differed between suburban and wildland habitat types or across seasons. Fresh coyote fecal samples were collected from wildland and suburban habitats in Pinellas County, Florida (USA; 27°54′N, 82°41′W) from May 2005 to March 2007. Diet items in the 49 wildland and 71 suburban samples were identified to the lowest possible taxonomic level by gross morphological characteristics and medullary configurations of dorsal guard hairs. A Poisson regression was utilized to determine the main and interactive effects of habitat and season on the number of different food items per sample. Coyotes in the wildland habitat had greater diet diversity than suburban coyotes. In addition, anthropogenic waste was recovered over twice as often from coyote fecal samples collected in the suburban habitat. In the wildland habitat, vegetative matter (96%), Insecta (53%), and Rodentia (45%) were recovered most often, as opposed to berries (56%) and Lagomorpha (32%) in the suburban habitat. In both habitats, vegetative matter, berries, and Lagomorpha were recovered most often from coyote fecal samples, whereas Odocoileus virginianus, Lagomorpha, and berries varied the most between wet and dry seasons. This study suggests that as urbanization increases, diet diversity for the coyote will likely decrease and consumption of anthropogenic items will likely increase. As a result of this, human–coyote conflicts may become more common—particularly in counties, like Pinellas, that are undergoing urbanization.     

Disentangling system contact and services: A key pathway to evidence-based children's policy

There is often a disconnect between the best available research and the policy decisions governing the functioning of large child-serving systems. This paper argues that this is, in part, due to conflating system contact with actual service provision. When outcomes are understood in terms of contacts as compared to services, this can lead to inappropriate or inadequate policy responses. Empirical data on contact and services for four large child-serving systems (child welfare, education, juvenile court, and mental health) are presented to illustrate this dilemma. Multi-sector services and need for collaboration are also briefly reviewed. Recommendations are made for improving data infrastructure and research to help bridge the gap between what policy makers see and actual system functioning. This is presented as a key step on the path to achieving evidence-based policy to support children's well-being.     

Developing a More Inclusive Social Identity: An Elementary School Intervention

School integration, stimulated by the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision, has influenced students' social and educational experiences. Drawing on practice and theory, we focus on strategies for improving intergroup relations. In a series of sessions over four-weeks, 830 first and second grade children participated in Green Circle program activities designed to widen their circles of inclusion to include people who are different from themselves. Although the intervention did not influence children's biases in sharing or how happy they would be playing with others who were different from themselves based on race, sex, and weight, it did lead them to be more inclusive in selecting their most preferred playmate. Implications for friendship development and improvement in intergroup attitudes are considered .

He drew a circle that shut me out- Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout. But love and I had the wit to win- We drew a circle that took him in.
                              —Edwin Markham (1936, p. 67)

     

The Co-Occurrence of Child Abuse and Domestic Violence: An Issue of Service Delivery for Social Service Professionals

In order to add to the growing literature on intergenerational rates of family violence, data were collected from a community-based child abuse agency. The study's purpose was to compare the co-occurrence of child abuse/neglect (CAN) and domestic violence (DV), and the prevalence of CAN and parent's childhood history of abuse. Data were collected from 537 families through intake and subsequent interviews in an attempt to determine the relationship among CAN and DV, and CAN and parent's childhood history of abuse. A chi-square analysis indicated significant relationships among these variables. Of the participants in this sample, 48.9% had experienced both CAN and DV. These results also indicated that 66.3% of participants had a childhood history of CAN and were currently experiencing issues of CAN with their own children. Logistic regression was utilized to examine whether families involved with Child Protective Services (CPS) were at higher risk for DV and/or parental childhood history of CAN. The results indicate that CPS-involved families were approximately three times as likely to have a parent reporting a childhood history of CAN but were not at significantly higher odds for DV. Implications for service delivery are discussed.     

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