Self-Care Plan

Human service professionals engage caseloads that may expose them to stress and fatigue. These activities include assisting families and communities to overcome their problems. Often, human service activities can alter their energy, optimism, and efficiency and end up exhausted. They have ethical commitments to help others and a power drive to lead other people. These activities necessitate the need to have a self-care plan. A self-care plan is a wellness guideline that promotes a person’s health by balancing an individual’s mental, physical and emotional needs (Butler et al., 2019). A self-care plan allows an individual to get back to equilibrium after an off-track (Butler et al., 2019). As much as they are concerned about their clients’ needs, they need to nurture themselves to avoid burnout by securing a self-care plan in their bag. This paper will identify aspects that necessitate the need for a self-care plan for human service professionals. List strategies used to maintain an appropriate level of self-care, explain why these strategies are essential, and describe the importance of a self-care plan and its relationship with professionalism.

A self-care plan is a fundamental requirement for every individual in a human service profession. Burnout is one of the aspects that necessitate the need for a self-care plan (Coaston, 2017). Human service professionals encounter burnout in their line of duty due to the high empathy experienced in their jobs (Lizano, 2015). Burnout may expose them to grief, pain, and stress, which require a self-care plan to encounter these challenges. A self-care plan will help these professionals realize when they are experiencing burnout; take necessary corrective action to avoid disruptions in their social work.

 Additionally, a self-care plan is necessary to avoid overworking. Human service professionals engage in involving workloads that can lead to overworking (Portoghese et al., 2014). They serve one client after another and end working without rest leading to overworking. A self-care plan is necessary to remind them to rest despite their busy schedules. Overworking necessitates the need for a self-care plan.

To maintain an appropriate self-care level, I would adopt several strategies for efficiency in my new human service position. These strategies cut across emotional, physical, emotional, spiritual, and psychological. Firstly, I would ensure a healthy personal life (Wei et al., 2020. A healthy life can be achieved by eating right, taking yoga classes, and enough sleep (Wei et al., 2020). These activities boost one energy and vigilance to serve others. Maintaining a healthy personal life is an essential strategy for professionals that help them draw a line between their work and personal life, thus balancing both.

I would also work toward managing my workload to avoid unnecessary stress. This can be achieved by breaking down tasks into manageable units (Wei et al., 2020). Numerous activities often strain human service professionals at the workplace that involves serving one client to another. Workers need to look back and reorganize their workload into manageable units to achieve efficiency. Organizing workloads can also include putting deadlines for different activities. Organizing workload is an important aspect of attaining self-care and avoid chaos at the workplace.

Thirdly, I would also learn to say no to new commitments. Additional tasks can add extra stress and limit one’s efficiency (Wei et al., 2020). It is okay to say no to matters that may deprive one healthy life. Social workers may find it hard to say no to their clients due to fear of disappointing them. Therefore, they end up overworking and suffer from burnout. Learning to say no will help human service professionals rest from their daily activities and engage in healthy exercises that will boost their health and maintain an appropriate level of self-care.

A self-care plan is an important tool that human service professionals should strive to adopt in their line of duty.  A self-care plan assists professionals in preventing stress and anxiety (Dalphon, 2019). By incorporating self-care activities such as exercises, an individual can rejuvenate and take time to rest. Through this, professionals reduce stress and anxiety. Additionally, a self-care plan is necessary for efficiency at the workplace. Through enough rest and workouts, individuals acquire more energy to serve their clients to their best (Dalphon, 2019).  A self-care plan also helps individuals to develop creative ideas. A self-care plan allows an individual to have a clear mind thus formulate creative ideas. A self-care plan results in the establishment of a high level of professionalism (Bloomquist et al., 2016). When professionals take care of themselves, they can serve clients best with vigilance and building professionalism at the workplace. Therefore, self-care is an essential tool for every human service professional.

In conclusion, different aspects of a human service profession necessitate the need for a self-care plan. Burnout is one of them. Human service professionals adopt strategies like dividing their workloads into manageable loads to achieve self-care. Self-care plans enable professionals to offer exemplary services to their clients and promote professionalism. Therefore, a self-care plan is an important tool for both clients and human service professionals.

References

Bloomquist, K., Wood, L., Friedmeyer-Trainor, K., & Kim, H. (2016). Self-care and Professional Quality of Life: Predictive Factors among MSW Practitioners. Advances In Social Work, 16(2), 292-311. https://doi.org/10.18060/18760

Butler, L., Mercer, K., McClain-Meeder, K., Horne, D., & Dudley, M. (2019). Six domains of self-care: Attending to the whole person. Journal Of Human Behavior In The Social Environment, 29(1), 107-124. https://doi.org/10.1080/10911359.2018.1482483

Coaston, S. (2017). Self-Care Through Self-Compassion: A Balm for Burnout. The Professional Counselor, 7(3), 285-297. https://doi.org/10.15241/scc.7.3.285

 Dalphon, H. (2019). Self-care techniques for social workers: Achieving an ethical harmony between work and well-being. Journal Of Human Behavior In The Social Environment, 29(1), 85-95. https://doi.org/10.1080/10911359.2018.1481802

Lizano, E. (2015). Examining the Impact of Job Burnout on the Health and Well-Being of Human Service Workers: A Systematic Review and Synthesis. Human Service Organizations Management, Leadership & Governance, 39(3), 167-181. https://doi.org/10.1080/23303131.2015.1014122

Portoghese, I., Galletta, M., Coppola, R., Finco, G., & Campagna, M. (2014). Burnout and Workload Among Health Care Workers: The Moderating Role of Job Control. Safety And Health At Work, 5(3), 152-157. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.shaw.2014.05.004

Wei, H., Kifner, H., Dawes, M., Wei, T., & Boyd, J. (2020). Self-care Strategies to Combat Burnout Among Pediatric Critical Care Nurses and Physicians. Critical Care Nurse, 40(2), 44-53. https://doi.org/10.4037/ccn2020621