This document provides a template for counseling students to develop a self-care plan to maintain personal wellness. The template prompts students to identify signs of stress, current self-care practices, new self-care practices in mind, body, social/cultural, and spiritual areas. Students list people for support and affirming statements. An emergency plan outlines actions if stress symptoms occur instead of unhealthy behaviors. The plan promotes caring for mind, body, social connections, and spirit.

1. Healthcare Assignment: Develop a Self-Care Plan
Healthcare Assignment: Develop a Self-Care Plan ON Healthcare Assignment: Develop a
Self-Care PlanCounselors engage in self-care activities to maintain and promote their own
emotional, physical, mental, and spiritual well-being to best meet their professional
responsibilities.—2014 ACA Code of Ethics, Section C: “Professional Responsibility,”
IntroductionTo be successful in your mental health counseling career and remain
passionate about serving clients, it is necessary to maintain personal and professional
wellness. Helping clients, while intrinsically rewarding, is difficult work. Counseling
sessions are often filled with intense client stories, experiences, and emotions that can be
stressful for you as well as for the client. Focusing solely on clients and losing sight of
yourself can have a significant impact on your effectiveness as a counselor and can
potentially lead to burnout. Healthcare Assignment: Develop a Self-Care PlanFor this
Assignment, you will develop a Self-Care Plan that you can use to help maintain your
personal and professional wellness.To Prepare:Review the results from your VIA Survey of
Character Strengths, which you completed in this week’s Discussion.Review the Learning
Resources related to self-care.Review the Self-Care Plan Template you will use to help
create your plan.Assignment:Complete your Self-Care Plan using the
template.strengthsprofile_harold_jean.pdfusw1_coun_6100_week02_Unformatted
Attachment PreviewHarold Jean 1: Bravery Not shrinking from threat, challenge, difficulty,
or pain; speaking up for what’s right even if there’s opposition; acting on convictions even if
unpopular; includes physical bravery but is not limited to it. 2: Creativity Thinking of novel
and productive ways to conceptualize and do things; includes artistic achievement but is
not limited to it. 3: Honesty Speaking the truth but more broadly presenting oneself in a
genuine way and acting in a sincere way; being without pretense; taking responsibility for
one’s feelings and actions. 4: Leadership Encouraging a group of which one is a member to
get things done and at the same time maintain good relations within the group; organizing
group activities and seeing that they happen. 5: Love of learning Mastering new skills,
topics, and bodies of knowledge, whether on one’s own or formally; related to the strength
of curiosity but goes beyond it to describe the tendency to add systematically to what one
knows. 6: Appreciation of Beauty & Excellence Noticing and appreciating beauty, excellence,
and/or skilled performance in various domains of life, from nature to art to mathematics to
science to everyday experience. 7: Teamwork Working well as a member of a group or
team; being loyal to the group; doing one’s share. 8: Curiosity Taking an interest in ongoing
experience for its own sake; finding subjects and topics fascinating; exploring and

2. discovering. 9: Perseverance Finishing what one starts; persevering in a course of action in
spite of obstacles; ©2018 VIA Institute on Character. All Rights Reserved. Harold Jean
“getting it out the door”; taking pleasure in completing tasks. 10: Judgment Thinking things
through and examining them from all sides; not jumping to conclusions; being able to
change one’s mind in light of evidence; weighing all evidence fairly. 11: Kindness Doing
favors and good deeds for others; helping them; taking care of them. 12: Perspective Being
able to provide wise counsel to others; Healthcare Assignment: Develop a Self-Care
Planhaving ways of looking at the world that make sense to oneself/others. 13: Zest
Approaching life with excitement and energy; not doing things halfway or halfheartedly;
living life as an adventure; feeling alive and activated. 14: Love Valuing close relations with
others, in particular those in which sharing & caring are reciprocated; being close to people.
15: Prudence Being careful about one’s choices; not taking undue risks; not saying or doing
things that might later be regretted. 16: Fairness Treating all people the same according to
notions of fairness and justice; not letting feelings bias decisions about others; giving
everyone a fair chance. 17: Forgiveness Forgiving those who have done wrong; accepting
others’ shortcomings; giving people a second chance; not being vengeful. 18: Humor Liking
to laugh and tease; bringing smiles to other people; seeing the light side; making (not
necessarily telling) jokes. ©2018 VIA Institute on Character. All Rights Reserved. Harold
Jean 19: Humility Letting one’s accomplishments speak for themselves; not regarding
oneself as more special than one is. 20: Social intelligence Being aware of the
motives/feelings of others and oneself; knowing what to do to fit into different social
situations; knowing what makes other people tick. 21: Hope Expecting the best in the future
and working to achieve it; believing that a good future is something that can be brought
about. 22: Self-Regulation Regulating what one feels and does; being disciplined; controlling
one’s appetites and emotions. 23: Gratitude Being aware of and thankful for the good things
that happen; taking time to express thanks. 24: Spirituality Having coherent beliefs about
the higher purpose and meaning of the universe; knowing where one fits within the larger
scheme; having beliefs about the meaning of life that shape conduct and provide comfort.
©2018 VIA Institute on Character. All Rights Reserved. COUN 6100: Introduction to Clinical
Mental Health Counseling Self-Care Plan Created by: On Date: This is your Self-Care Plan.
There are no right or wrong answers. There is no “perfect” way to complete it—you can do
so with words, pictures, links, or other creative ways. Be authentic and identify what is right
for you at this time. Remember that you can always change your mind and adjust your plan!
This document is evolving and flexible, a place to start. This is your contract with yourself to
prioritize your health and well-being throughout your graduate school journey. Welcome!
How do you know when you are stressed and need to practice extra self-care? What are the
signs? 1. 2. 3. Take some time to think about your current self-care. What do you currently
do? Mind Current Practices: 1. 2. Healthcare Assignment: Develop a Self-Care PlanBody
Current Practices: 1. 2. Social or Cultural Current Practices: 1. 2. Spirit Current Practices: 1.
2. Identify new, quick, and easy practices that you could consider trying for each area
(examples are given below; you can use these examples if you wish, but come up with your
own as well!) Mind (e.g., watching a comedy on TV or reading a book) New Practices: 1. ©
2018 Walden University Body (e.g., going for a short walk or dancing in the living room)

3. New Practices: 1. 1 COUN 6100: Introduction to Clinical Mental Health Counseling 2. 3.
Social or Cultural (e.g., game night with your kids or calling a friend) New Practices: 1. 2. 3.
2. 3. Spirit (e.g., closing your eyes for 2 minutes and breathing deeply, or listening to your
favorite music) New Practices: 1. 2. 3. Identify three people you can call or visit to talk about
your thoughts and feelings: 1. 2. 3. Identify three affirmative statements, inspirational
quotes, images, or links to videos that remind you of your strengths: (e.g., “I know I am
strong enough to accomplish this goal,” or listing your strengths from your VIA Survey of
Character Strengths) 1. 2. 3. Emergency Self-Care Contract If I notice any of the following
signs or symptoms of stress, I commit to find time to take my own good advice. I will avoid
doing the following: 1. 2. 3. Instead, I commit to taking care of myself and nurturing my
well-being by engaging in the following activities, behaviors, or actions, keeping in mind
that my mind, body, socio-cultural self, and spirit all need to be cared for (list at least three,
but feel free to list as many as you like): 1. 2. 3. I will contact one of the following people to
talk to them about my feelings and thoughts: © 2018 Walden University 2 COUN 6100:
Introduction to Clinical Mental Health Counseling 1. 2. 3. I will review the following to
remind me of my strengths: 1. 2. 3. If appropriate, I will reach out to one of the following
available Walden resources if I find I am struggling in school because I am overwhelmed: 1.
2. 3. e-Signature: © 2018 Walden University Date: 3