Application: Best Practices

For this Application Assignment, select an interview from the media carousel in this week’s Learning Resources and consider best practices for promoting professional wellness for that work setting. (agency, police or fire station, school, etc.) Think of how each practice might be applied and the potential benefits for trauma-response helping professionals to promote self-care and wellness. Select one or more work-setting specific articles from this week’s Learning Resources to inform your answer.

The assignment: (2–3 pages)

Use the Media Carousel “Trauma-Response Helping Professionals” to select an interview. Please select a different interview from the previous week.
Briefly describe the work setting in the interview you selected. Identify at least 3 stressors related to this work environment. Explain three best practices for the work setting you chose to promote personal and professional wellness. Justify your response by providing evidence-based research from current literature for the inclusion of this sort of environmental practice. Be specific.

Learning Resources

Media Media Carousel: Trauma-Response Helping Professionals

Transcript

Readings
Course Text: Treating Compassion Fatigue Chapter 3, “Stress Response of Mental Health Workers Following Disaster: The Oklahoma City Bombing” Chapter 4, “Secondary Traumatic Stress in Case Managers Working in Community Mental Health Services”

Course Text: Quitangon, G. & Evces, M. (2015). Vicarious Trauma and Disaster Mental Health: Understanding Risks and Promoting Resilience. New York: Routlege Chapter 12

Article: Beehr, T., Bowling, N. & Bennett, M. (2010). Occupational stress and failures of social support: When helping hurts. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 15(1), 45–59.

Article: Fahy, A. (2007). The unbearable fatigue of compassion: Notes from a substance abuse counselor who dreams of working at Starbuck’s. Clinical Social Work Journal, 35(3), 199–205.

Article: O’Brien, P. (2006). Creating compassion and connection in the workplace. Journal of Systemic Therapies, 25(1), 16–36.

Article: Phelps, A., Lloyd, D., Creamer, M., & Forbes, B. (2009). Caring for careers in the aftermath of trauma. Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment and Trauma, 18(3), 313–330.

Article: Rubino, C., Luksyte, A., Perry, S., & Volpone, S. (2009). How do stressors lead to burnout? The mediating role of motivation. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 14(3), 289–304.

Select and read at least one article from the list below that supports the work setting you are examining for this week’s Application Assignment. Article: Bush, N. (2009). Compassion fatigue: Are you at risk? Oncology Nursing Forum, 36(1), 24–28.

Article: Creamer, T., & Liddle, B. (2005). Secondary traumatic stress among disaster mental health workers responding to the September 11 attacks. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 18(1), 89–96.

Article: Meadors, P., Lamson, A., Swanson, M., White, M., & Sira, N. (2010). Secondary traumatization in pediatric healthcare providers: Compassion fatigue, burnout, and secondary traumatic stress, Omega Journal of Death & Dying, 60(2), 103–128.

Article: Sabo, B. (2006). Compassion fatigue and nursing work: Can we accurately capture the consequences of caring work? International Journal of Nursing Practice, 12(3), 136 –142.

Article: Salston, M., & Figley, C. (2003). Secondary traumatic stress effects of working with survivors of criminal victimization. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 16(2), 167–174.

Article: Van der Velden, P., Kleber, R., Grievink, L., & Yzermans, J. (2010). Confrontations with aggression and mental health problems in police officers: The role of organizational stressors, life-events, and previous mental health problems. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy, 2(2), 135–144.

Article: Versola-Russo, J. (2006). Workplace violence: Vicarious trauma in the psychiatric setting. Journal of Police Crisis Negotiations, 6(2), 70–103.

Article: Warren, T., Lee, S., & Saunders, S. (2003). Factors influencing experienced distress and attitude toward trauma by emergency medicine practitioners. Journal of Clinical Psychology in Medical Settings, 10(4), 293–296.

Article: Xanthankis, A. (2009). Levels of work-stress and burnout among prison officers. An examination of the need for a staff counseling service in a forensic setting. Counseling Psychology Review, 24(3/4), 100 – 118.