For many social work students in the field, this may be their first exposure to traumatic events therefore field supervisors need to be prepared to discuss these potential risk

1. Supporting Student Development
Through Self-Care Strategies
August 18 and 19 2015
Aisha Coulson-Walters, MSS, MLSP, LSW
Adjunct Faculty-WCUPA- Philadelphia Campus
Child and Family Support Coordinator
The Stephen and Sandra Sheller
11th Street Family Health Services of Drexel University

2. Objectives
 Discuss social work supervision models with a focus
on trauma-informed social work supervision.
 Effectively discuss sources of social work student
occupational hazards in the field environment
 Explore techniques for addressing student compassion
fatigue through trauma-informed supervision and the
development care plans

3. Key Concepts
 Parallel Process
 Trauma-informed care
 Vicarious trauma
 Secondary trauma stress
 Compassion fatigue
 Self Care

4. Statement of the Problem
There is a growing body of research stating in order to
address the professional and developmental needs of
student social work in the field, the curriculum and the
field placement environment should be in tuned to
providing students with…
 Develop trauma informed practices through effective
supervision
 Draw an awareness to signs and symptoms of
compassion fatigue
 Develop effective coping strategies
 Encourage self-care practices that reduce the
development of premature burnout.
Radey, M And Figley, C.R. (2007). The Social Psychology of Compassion. Clinical
Social Work Journal 35. 207-214

5. Questions to Consider
 Who here receives weekly/monthly
supervision as a practitioner?
 Who here has ever received
supervisory or leadership
development training prior to
supervision staff or students?
 Who has ever received reflective
supervision training?
 Who here has ever experienced
compassion fatigue?
 Who here has a self-care plan?

6. What is Supervision
Definition of supervision as established by the NASW
and ASWB taskforce
 Supervision protects clients, supports practitioners
and ensures professional standards. Within this
relationship the supervisor is responsible for providing
direction to the supervisee…. both parties are
responsible for meeting goals, carrying out defined
roles. This relationship is collaborative in nature. The
supervisor provides the supervisee with mirroring
through the parallel process.
National Association of Social Workers Association of Social Work Boards (2013) Best
Practices

7. Administrative
Overview of policy
and procedures
Monitoring and data
collection
Evaluation
Education
Teaching about
relevant population
Models of care
Challenges typical of
the field
environment
Support
Assessing supports
needed for adjusting
to field environment
Developing coping
strategies
Processing
opportunities
Berge & Quiros, L. (inpress) Supervision for trauma informed practice. Traumatology

8. Parallel Process- Field
Educator/Student Stressors
 Students are trying to manage
lack of free time, school, work,
personal responsibilities and
field placements
 Field Educators are dealing with
lack of time to complete the
necessary tasks of their jobs,
heavy workloads, personal
responsibilities (work-family),
completing day-to-day work
tasks and supporting trauma-
exposed clients who present
with challenging behaviors
Radey, M. & Figley, C. R. (2007). The social psychology of compassion. Clinical Social
Work Journal, 35,207-214.

9. Reflective Supervision
 Evidence-based model
originating in the field of
early childhood
 Regularity of supervision
 Supervisee/student
guides the process
through their agenda
development
 Collaboration and
Reflection
 Modeling occurs through
the a parallel process

10.  The field instructor may ask
student needs and expectations
 Encourage exploration of
emotional thoughts/feelings
 Listen to the experiences of
student
 Discussions surround potential
adverse reactions/responses to
clients being served
 Remain open
Impart from Michigan Association for Mental Health http://www.mi-aimh.org/reflective-supervision
What Reflective Supervision Looks like in the
field….

11. Reflective Supervision

12. Impact of Trauma

13. Trauma- Informed Care
Yassen, J (1995). Preventing secondary traumatic stress disorder. In Figley, C.R. (Ed). Compassion fatigue coping with
secondary traumatic stree (1st ed. 178-208). New York: Brunner/Mazel
 There’s an effort to improve services to traumatized
individuals
 Changing organizational policies and procedures that
unintentionally re-traumatize individuals.
 Provide a consistent environment rooted in trust ,
emotional and physical safety and choice

14. Social work students are most commonly placed in trauma
exposed environments for their field placements. For some this
is may their first exposure to traumatic events or for others their
field settings may create triggering experiences from past
trauma histories. Therefore, Field instructors/educators need to
be prepared to discuss the potential risk in the field. For
example:
• Interacting with communities plagued with the chronic
stressors of lack economic security
• Routine exposure to hospice setting were aging, diseases and
end of life care .

15. Trauma Informed Supervision
Tenets of TIS Why
 Regular meeting time
 Student prepares an agenda
addressing needs, learning
goals, triggers impacting work
and what they are doing for self-
care
 Field Instructor helps identify
trauma response
(client/student/field instructor
 Used as a supportive holding
environment
 Discuss current or potential
triggers rather than behavior
approach
 Students bring their own beliefs
and experiences into the field
environment
 Field experiences impact
student social support both
positively and negatively.
Students have their own trauma
histories
 –Their families and close others
 –Their economic situation
 Work/Family/School balance
creates both internal and
external stress
University of Nevada, Reno. Compassion Fatigue- Workshop 1. http://www.unr.edu/Documents/dhs/social-work/field-
education/Forms/compassion-fatigue-workshop-1.pdf

16. Trauma Informed Supervision
Overall TIS is an approach to administrative,
educational and supportive supervision that combines
field instructor/educators expertise with the
understanding that there is an interrelationship between
past trauma experience/and or exposure by the student,
processing their emotional responses, developing coping
strategies that mirror the interaction between the
student, field instructor, and developing a self care plan
to reduce vicarious traumatization, premature burnout
and compassion fatigue.

17. Why is TIS Important for Students
 For most social work students, the field environment is
rooted with ambiguity and stress(Kamya, 2000).
 Often clarity is clarified through interactions with
field instructors and other supportive staff.
 In a study conducted by Litvack, Bogo and Mishna
(2009), among social work students, the Student-Field
Instructor Relationship served as both a protective
factor against Compassion Fatigue.
 Draw awareness to the working signs of burnoutKamya, H(2000). Hardiness and spiritual well-being among social work students: Implications for social work education. Journal of
Social Work Education, 36, 231-241
Litvack, A., Mishna, F., & Bogo, M. (2010). Emotional reactions of students in field education: An exploratory study. Journal of Social
Work Education, 46(2), 227-243
Badali, M.A. &Habra, M.E (2003). Self-care for psychology Students: Strategies for staying healthy and avoiding burnout. Canada’s
Psynopsis Newspaper, 25 (4), 14.

18. Case #2/ Role Play

19. Preventing Compassion Fatigue:
The Role of Self Care for Students Vicarious trauma- is the emotional residue of exposure
from constant rehearing of their trauma stories and
witnessing pain, fear, and terror expressed by trauma
survivors. (McCann &Pearlman, 1990)
 Secondary Trauma- symptoms that mirror chronic
symptoms of PSTD (sleep disturbance, irritability,
relational challenges) (American Psychiatric Association,
2000)
 Compassion Fatigue- as a result of the emotional
demands of the work, CF develops when the
consequences of frequent exposure to trauma stories,
organizational stress, limited work resources culminate
and create physiological, emotional and spiritual fatigue
impacting empathetic responses and the inability to find
pleasure in working(Figley,1995)
McCann, I.L. & Pearlman, L.A. (1990b). Vicarious traumatization: A framework for understanding the psychological effects of
working with victims. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 3, 131-149
Figley, C.R. (1995). Compassion Fatigue: Coping with Secondary Traumatic Stress Disorder In those who treat Traumatized(
Routledge Psychsocial Stress Series) 1st Ed.

20. What is Self-care
 Self-care is defined as self-nurturing
methods that affirm and protect
social workers as they undertake the
care of others (Saakvitne &
Pearlman, 1996).
 Self-care is called, “an essential
underpinning to best practice in the
profession of social work” by the
National Association of Social
Workers (Page 270, 2009
Saakvitne, K. A., & Pearlman, L. A. (1996). Transforming the pain: A
workbook onvicarious traumatization. New York, NY: W. W. Norton Co.
National Association of Social Workers (2009). Professional self-care policy.
In S.Lowman & L. M. O’Hearn (Eds.), Social Work Speaks: National
Association of Social Workers Policy Statements 2009–2012 (8th ed.,
pp.268–272). Washington, DC: National Association of Social Workers
Press.

21. Developing a Self Care Plan
Student Responsibilities Field Instructors
 Conduct a self-care assessment
with the student and create a
plan/modify each semester
 Consistently engage in
meaningful TIS with students
and other staff
 Model appropriate boundaries
 Model self-care techniques
 Utilize professional resources to
develop student self-care and
coping strategies.
 At the end of year conduct
students level of compassion
fatigue

22. For additional information or Resources
Aisha Coulson-Walters, MSS, MLSP, LSW
562-713-470 (cell)
aisha.coulson@gmail.com
asc92@drexel.edu