4.4 Program Planning for Self-Care

This module will conclude Program Improvement by focusing on a topic that is essential for the health of the program. It is the humanizing aspect of the program: the counseling personnel doing the work, and the services that are being provided.  

The ASCA Ethical Standards for School Counselors includes the following guidelines under standard B.3. Responsibilities to Self:

• Recognize the potential for stress and secondary trauma. Practice wellness and self-care through monitoring mental, emotional and physical health, while seeking consultation from an experienced school counseling practitioner and/or others when needed.

• Monitor personal behaviors and recognize the high standard of care a professional in this critical position of trust must maintain on and off the job. School counselors are cognizant of and refrain from activity that may diminish their effectiveness within the school community.

Dr. Laura Barbour of Lewis and Clark College studied the levels of compassion fatigue and compassion satisfaction among school counselors in Oregon. She then did a second study examining the correlation between those counselors’ levels of self-compassion and their levels of compassion fatigue.  

Among the results of the first study was the positive correlation between compassion fatigue and counselors identifying that their school principal did not understand the role and function of the school counselor. May this course assist school counseling personnel in helping their staff, students, administrators, and school board more clearly understand the role and function of their role in developing and implementing a comprehensive school counseling program that meets the standards outlined in OAR 581-022-2060 and the Oregon Framework.

The results of the second study identified that self-compassion activities such as those taught by Kristen Neff were inversely correlated with compassion fatigue. This finding suggests that self-compassion activities may be a tool for school counseling personnel to attenuate their levels of compassion fatigue and thus burnout. Here is the link to Dr. Laura Barbour’s video on Compassion Fatigue and Self Compassion. Schools and districts can support their school counseling personnel by providing time and encouragement for self-compassion and self-care activities. The University of Buffalo School of Social Work published a Self Care starter kit that can be a helpful tool to combat compassion fatigue.