Examining the Understanding and Practices of Self-Care Among Philippine Helping Professionals
Abstract
Abstract: Although the concept of self-care for helping professionals has a growing body of psychological literature in the United States, this is not the case in other countries, such as the Philippines. As the research on self-care for helping professionals has continued to develop, it is becoming evident that further exploration is needed in relation to different predictor variables, populations, and professions. Inherent to the ideals and values of the mental health profession is the focus on the needs of the client, possibly at the cost of the professional. The potential outcome may be a helping professional who is numb to their day-to-day life stressors who may experience burnout at a much faster rate in comparison to other professions. The research on burnout has emphasized the importance of self-care but yet to examine how self-care should be implemented within the Philippine culture. In the Philippines, a typical helping professional’s caseload may be more than three times the average in developed countries, such as the United States. The purpose of this study is to highlight the importance of self-care, provide a framework of self-care components important to Filipino/a helping professionals, and explore how they address burnout and vicarious trauma in relation to their self-care practices. Using qualitative interviews of Filipino/a helping professionals and Conventional Content Analysis, 12 self-care themes emerged from their responses.
Impact and Implications:
Supporting health workers, in general, and helping professionals, specifically, are integral to moving toward equity and well-being for all. The UN Sustainable Development Goals include a commitment to make all communities “inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable.” This paper is specific to Goal 3, which is “Good Health and Well-being” because this study examined Philippine self-care strategies. The Philippines, in particular, has a significant gap between available mental health workers and the need for mental healthcare (WHO, 2020). Therefore, the implementation of self-care strategies will help build resiliency and sustainability for their mental health workers, who are often burdened with heavy caseloads and under-resourcing.
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