Worker Self Care
Mar 31, 2017
We can't emphasise enough how important it is to take care of your physical and emotional health when working with young people in the alcohol and other drug sector. Youth and drug and alcohol work though rewarding a lot of the time can also cause anxiety and stress. Sometimes we don't see the positive outcomes we are hoping for and this can leave us feeling flat and emotionally drained. Over time this can lead to compassion fatigue and burnout. Our colleagues at Youth Support and Advocacy Service (YSAS) in Victoria developed the Youth AOD Toolbox back in 2014 with a wide range of information and resources for youth AOD workers. The Toolbox has an excellent module on worker self-care which explains what self-care is, why it's important and how to prevent compassion fatigue. There is also a helpful list of guidelines to assist you in developing your own self-care plan.