313: Managing the Impact of Traumatic Stress on the Child Welfare Professional

313: Managing the Impact of Traumatic Stress on the Child Welfare Professional


The Pennsylvania Child Welfare Resource Center

Learning Objectives

Participants will be able to:• Identify common terms associated with trauma

relating to child welfare professionals;• Recognize traumatic stress as an occupational hazard

in the child welfare profession;• Identify the symptoms of traumatic stress;• Assess through self-reflection, the impact of both

traumatic stress and personal strengths on one’s personal and professional life; and

• Develop strategies to manage traumatic stress and promote resiliency.

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Agenda• Welcome and Introductions• What is Traumatic Stress?• The Symptoms of Traumatic Stress• The Impact of Traumatic Stress• Strategies for Managing Traumatic

Stress and Promoting Resiliency• Summary and Evaluations

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Quality Service Review Indicator 1a: Safety: Exposure to Threats of HarmDegree to which:• The child/youth is free of abuse, neglect, and

exploitation by others in his/her place of residence, school, and other daily settings.

• The child/youth’s parents and/or caregivers provide the attention, actions, and supports and possess the skills and knowledge necessary to protect the child/youth from known and potential threats of harm in the home, school, and other daily settings.

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Carrying Darisabel

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http://media.ydr.com/interactive/baez/video.html

http://media.ydr.com/interactive/baez/video.html



Yes, they are related.

Culture and Traumatic Stress

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On the Other Hand, Burnout…

describes anyone whose health is suffering or whose outlook on life has turned negative because of the impact or overload of their work.

(Rothschild, B. 2006)

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• Both conditions have similar roots. Both conditions involve the cumulative effects of stress. Both conditions elicit similar responses from affected employees.

• While trauma deals with exposure to clients’ trauma and our own trauma, burnout adds the daily stressors of functioning in the overall workplace.

Burnout and Secondary Trauma - What’s the Difference?

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• Our exposure to trauma occurs daily because of repeated exposure to trauma, suffering and tragedy.

• The effect is cumulative, like exposure to radiation.

• It creates discernable changes in the employees in their physical health, psychological health, and spiritual well being.

Traumatic Stress

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Don’t Let Ideas Get Away!

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• Maladaptive coping strategies or additional challenges that may arise as a result of being exposed to traumatic events

• May be adaptive in the short term but also have the potential to interfere with an independent long-term recovery

What are Secondary Adversities?

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True or False?

Social Work students report having experienced more traumatic events in early childhood than business students.

TRUE

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When a caseworker displays signs of traumatic stress, it indicates it is time to seek out another line of work.

FALSE

True or False?

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Caseworkers who have been exposed to traumatic stress are typically less effective caseworkers.

FALSE

True or False?

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About 55% of child welfare professionals have at least one core symptom cluster (group of symptoms) of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

Almost 16% of workers meet the criteria for PTSD.

(Bride, 2007).

Prevalence of Secondary Trauma in Our Work

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What Impact Does Traumatic Stress Have on Us?

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What Impact Does Traumatic Stress Have on Our Agencies?

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Others that can be affected from our traumatic stress:

• Co-workers

• Our family

• Our friends

How Exposure to Trauma Affects Others

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Have you noticed the way I behave and appear to be different when I’m under pressure?

Do I seem to be acting that way increasingly more and more of the time?

What ways do you think my work is affecting me during the last week or year?

From your point of view, how is this behavior change affecting you or other people that I care about?

Assessing the Impact on Those that Support Us

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The PROQOL Scale

Assessing Risk and Impact

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A person’s ability to “bounce back” from hardship or a

difficult situation.

(ACS-NYU, Children’s Trauma Institute, 2011).

Resilience

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Change the external circumstances that are provoking stress and trauma reaction.

Change the internal approach or internal locus of control.

Search for Support.

Headington Institute, 2011

Strategies for Managing Trauma

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Managing Physical Responses to Trauma

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Managing Cognitive Responses to Trauma

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Completing Your Trauma-Informed Self-Care Plan

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Questions and Answers

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Use Your Action Plan Often!

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Documents

313: Managing the Impact of Traumatic Stress on the Child Welfare Professional