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The school counselor has many demands that they try to juggle such as meeting the needs of their students, parents, teachers community and balancing their own personal lives. There were many take-aways that I learned from the assigned resources regarding burnout, compassion fatigue, and secondary trauma.

Takeaway #1: The biggest takeaway that resonated with me was that as school counselors we are required to to seek self-care because if we do not then we are now liability. As a liability how can the counselor handle a crisis situation in an appropriate way? The counselor becomes isolated, misses work, and is they are unable to service the needs of their students.

Takeaway #2: Upon completing my practicum, I can recall my site supervisor being asked to manage many non-counseling duties. I can remember how stressed she was when she reminded administrators of how her time should be allocated. I also remember she had little to no supervision. I wonder if I will have a mentor or who will check on me?

Takeaway #3: I learned about developing counselor shared agreements, advocating for supervision, and entrusting my colleagues about traumatic caseloads. School counselors are more vulnerable to face burn out, and compassion fatigue.

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School counselors have an ethical responsibility to engage in self-care activities so that they can promote the well-being of their students and meet their professional responsibilities.

Self-Care Strategies on Campus: At my campus, I will check-in on my fellow colleagues. This five-minute check-in can be accomplished by asking my peers how their day is going. If they are having an off day, perhaps just being their will help. This check-in can be reciprocated by my fellow peers, thus creating a support network.

Self-Care Strategies at Home: At home I will try hiking as a away to practice self-care. This strategy enables me to focus on my own social emotional learning by reflecting on coping strategies that worked worked or not worked. Afterwords, I would journal my thoughts and devise a plan that increases my own self-awareness.

Long-Term Self-Care Strategies: While i was completing my practicum, I learned from my site supervisor the importance of taking time to go on vacation with my loved ones. Since graduate students are also vulnerable to compassion fatigue and burnout, I made it a point to attend a beach resort in South Padre for five days with my family this summer. This vacation rejuvenated my overall mental well-being and permitted me to start the new year refreshed.

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Self Care is important in the school counselor field because it enables us to reduce stress levels, burnout and compassion fatigue. Practicing self care enables the counselor to increase their own self-awareness, avoid, professional impairment, and maintain our professional responsibility to our students. Counselors that practice self care have healthier relationships at home, higher career satisfaction, and lead a better quality of life.

As a future school counselor, I have learned that self-care is essential within our field because it is proven to:

increase my physical energy and enable me to focus on my real career purpose

reduce my stress by improving my resiliency and remaining aware of internal feelings

reduce any onsets of depression by forming healthy interpersonal relationships

increase my understanding of coping skills so I can learn how to process uncomfortable feelings.

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My Own Self-Care Remedies as a Graduate Student in the Professional School Counseling Program:

1. Self care is not something I hope to get but it is something that I must do. Example: I journal every night my high and low points of my day.

2. I find a way to refill my emotional bucket. I strive to go on nature walks in the morning hours during the weekend or afterwork.

3. I focus on my own social-emotional learning by forming a personal support system. For example, I formed my own "lunch-bunch group with the school counselor, social worker, and Community in School partner. We meet every Tuesday to reflect on our week.

4. I remind myself that I have an ethical obligation to engage in self-care activities. This obligation allows me to be counselor that I always envisioned.