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ALUMNI SERIES: Therapist Self-Care During Difficult Times
September 29, 2021 @ 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm CDT
This program, when attended in its entirety, offers 1.0 continuing education credit for psychologists.
This program is free and open to all to attend. Click here to register
It’s been a difficult time to be a therapist. We are collectively experiencing the same trauma as our clients. We are impacted by the pandemic, civic and political unrest, and racial and systemic injustice. As therapists, we are vulnerable to vicarious trauma and burnout. Clinicians who care about their work and are empathic are at risk of experiencing vicarious trauma and burnout. It is imperative for therapists to actively engage in trauma stewardship and self-care.
“‘Trauma stewardship’ is a concept that encompasses how, as people working for justice, we engage with the amount of pain and traumatic responses that we hold collectively in our communities and society” (Lipsky, 2009). As mental health providers, we must be mindful of the personal and professional impact of the work we do. Witnessing and being subjected to institutionalized racism, marginalization, and oppression impacts clients and service providers. Although this is a normal and expected part of the work, self-care and prevention of vicarious trauma is not stressed enough in graduate training. This experiential presentation will provide an overview of a variety of ways to increase therapist self-care and prevent vicarious trauma.
Presented by Bianka Hardin, Psy.D. is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist and owner of Centered Therapy Chicago. Dr. Hardin founded CTC in 2014 with the mission to help both adolescents and adults improve their mental health and quality of life. Dr. Hardin has taught at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology since 2001. She became the Associate Department Chair of the Clinical PsyD Department in 2007 with a focus on the development and oversight of the Child and Adolescent Track and served as a full-time faculty member. In 2013, she transitioned to a part-time faculty member and is now an adjunct professor.