Care for the Caregiver

Care for the Caregiver: Helping to support sustainable caring with Courtney Smith, M.Ed.

CLICK LINK FOR HANDOUTS: Care for the Caregiver
Secondary Trauma Caregiver Fatigue

Tuesday, November 7, 2017  12-2pm (arrive at 11:30 a.m. to sign in and for “meet and greet” reception catered by Vimala’s CurryBlossom Cafe)

Description:

Caregiving is both vital and stressful work that is often carried by parents and other family members, along with other service providers. In this workshop, Courtney Smith will describe the risks caregivers themselves can face when caring for individuals who have intellectual and developmental disabilities, behavioral and mental health disorders, and/or special healthcare needs. This workshop will equip practitioners with tools for identifying secondary trauma in caregivers, as well as strategies to help them avoid developing secondary trauma. Ms. Smith will also provide strategies to use with caregivers to increase their self-care, support and resilience.

Trainer:

Courtney Smith, M.Ed., President of Blue Spiral Consulting, has spent 27 years working in human services with both clinical and administrative experience. Since 2000, she has focused on sharing her knowledge through consultation, training, curriculum development, and best practice implementation. Courtney sees herself as an architect of learning and uses storytelling and inside-out experiences to captivate her audience. She has been a keynote speaker and presents at national conferences regularly

Learning Objectives:

At the completion of this workshop, participants will be able to:

1. Articulate a definition for secondary trauma.
2. Identify and utilize at least 1 tool to assess caregiver well-being and self-care.
3. Identify and apply at least 2 strategies for coping with caregiver stress.

References:

• Adams, R. E., Boscarino, J. A., & Figley, C. R. (2006). Compassion fatigue and psychological distress among social workers: A validation study. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 76(1), 103-108.
• Friedman, MD, Donald M. and Compher, Vic. (2016). Who helps our helpers? Rediscovering joy in medicine by addressing secondary trauma. Department of Medicine Posters. 4.
• Stamm, B. H.. (1995). Secondary traumatic stress: Self-care issues for clinicians, researchers, and educators. Baltimore:The Sidran Press.

Additional resources:

• Trauma Stewardship by Laura Van Dernoot-Lipsky
•  Twelve Steps for Caregivers 
• Best and Worst Apps for Caregivers
• Caring for those who care for people with mental illness 
• World Health Organization Report on Caring for those with Disabilities 

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