Foster Care Training

Child welfare workers are vulnerable to secondary traumatic stress (STS) through their exposure to trauma and violence in the families they work with. The group will discuss the symptoms and effects of STS as well as personal experiences of secondary trauma. Strategies for managing secondary trauma and addressing issues of grief and loss experienced in child welfare work will be reviewed. The emotional rollercoaster of working in a high stress profession will also be discussed along with the impact on our personal lives. The importance of self-care will be reviewed with strategies shared for managing stress, self-care planning and improving our personal well-being.

Objectives

1. To provide workers with an opportunity to discuss and process their experiences working with children and families in crisis who have experienced trauma.
2. To support workers in recognizing boundary issues in working with families including transference, counter-transference and secondary trauma.
3. To provide workers with strategies for managing secondary trauma and guidelines to support effective helping relationships.
4. To support workers in developing strategies for self-care and managing stress in order to maintain work effectiveness and personal well-being.
5. To provide strategies and guidelines for workers to stay positively connected and engaged in their work.