My biggest takeaway from reading the materials is that as a counselor, not only is self-care a necessity but an ethical mandate. The counselor must be in good mental and physical condition in order to be able to support and help students or clients effectively.

Self-Care is of extreme importance to helping professionals. Lack of self-care in a helping professional can lead to burn-out. Burn out will affect not only the counselor but their clients as well. A counselor suffering from burn out may lose empathy and provide ineffective counseling. Therefore, self-care is a necessity and not a luxury for helping professionals. Engaging in self-care by taking care of your physical, mental and emotional health is a must.

Some of my health care strategies are regular exercise and healthy eating.  I also prioritize my well-being by drinking no alcohol and taking vitamins daily. In addition, to take care of my emotional well-being, I ensure to spend quality time with my family and supportive friends such as my daughters and stepdaughter whom I included a picture of.