Professional Self-Care in Social Work Practice: A New Conceptual Framework

Abstract

Social work practitioners have experienced increased rates of burnout, fatigue, and occupational stress. To combat deteriorating mental health, the National Association of Social Workers' Code of Ethics has called for a renewed focus on self-care practice. Yet, self-care education often fails to consider how to integrate practices into the workplace, especially with constrained resources and increasing caseloads. The purpose of this study was to examine healthcare social workers' perceptions of self-care in the workplace. Semistructured virtual interviews were conducted with healthcare social workers (N = 43) across the state of Texas. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and redacted to protect participant confidentiality. Through content analysis, the research team analyzed transcripts by selecting meaningful units of text to create codes and categories. Themes were then developed, and the research team refined codes, discussed inconsistencies, and reached consensus. Findings demonstrate self-care in the workplace includes (a) individual strategies, identified by strong and trustworthy peer support systems and boundary management; (b) intrapersonal strategies, identified by formal supervision and advocacy and activism; and (c) institutional strategies, identified by ethical workplace cultures that invest in mental health and explicitly value social work. These data inform a framework to adapt self-care from an individual necessity to a shared responsibility among organizational leadership.

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