An Ethical Responsibility to Instill, Cultivate, and Reinforce Self-Care Skills

Many social workers are exposed to trauma directly and indirectly through their academic coursework and practice settings. Research shows that social workers who practice self-care early in their careers are better able and more likely to effectively manage these experiences. In the long term, self-care can reduce staff turnover rates and burnout, and therefore increase the quality of client care. Bachelor of Social Work and Master of Social Work programs have an ethical responsibility to integrate self-care into the curriculum as a professional competency at the micro, mezzo, and macro levels of practice to help cultivate, develop, and retain practitioners long term. This article presents strategies for implementing self-care skill building into social work curricula and field education.