Emotional Boundaries and Secondary Traumatic Stress

Explore the importance of self awareness and care in supporting work effectiveness, job satisfaction, and personal well being for child welfare workers. Discuss issues related to staying positively engaged in your work including: the zone of helpfulness; counter-transference issues; and guidelines for helping relationships. Review the emotional rollercoaster of working in a high stress profession; the impact on our personal lives; and strategies for coping with stress and taking care of ourselves.  Review the symptoms and affects of secondary traumatic stress (STS) and how to address it. Helping professionals experience strong personal responses to working in child welfare. It is important for us to be aware of how our responses impact our work with children and families, emotional and physical well being, and personal lives. 

This training provides participants with an increased understanding of:

• Professional boundaries and the zone of involvement
• Transference and counter-transference issues in child welfare work
• Professional guidelines for helping relationships with children and families
• The symptoms and affects of secondary traumatic stress and how to address it
• The emotional rollercoaster of working in a high stress profession
• The impact of child welfare work on our personal lives
• Strategies for taking care of ourselves and improving our well being

Instructor Paul Gibson, LCSW, is a Program Consultant with over 28 years of experience developing and directing programs for culturally diverse youth in residential, public health, mental health, and vocational services. He has more than 20 years experience as a licensed therapist and educator providing extensive trainings for youth service providers on working with vulnerable youth. He currently serves on the Mayor’s Transitional Youth Task Force in San Francisco.