Social workers are a uniquely selfless community, devoting their work to helping society’s most vulnerable address a myriad of critical issues, from lack of resources to emotional and psychological crises to instances of domestic violence and abuse. In addressing these emergencies, social workers often have to put their own mental health needs on hold, subordinating their own experiences to ensure that others are getting the care they need.
However, as social workers amass years of field experience, they tend to find that they cannot let their own emotional interests go unaddressed. For one thing, social workers are people, subject to the same inner challenges as anyone else. For another, the work of providing for people in crisis can be incredibly emotionally taxing, meaning the job of social work itself can give rise to a specific type of mental health challenge.
Longtime social workers understand that in order to do the complex and intense work of supporting people in need, they must make time to look out for their own mental health.
By doing so, they are not only investing in their short-term wellbeing, but also their ability to sustain their work for a long time to come. In this way, social workers can understand the link between their own self-care and the care they are able to provide for others.
Fortunately for social workers, the high stress and emotional complexity of their work has not gone unacknowledged. Because social work professionals recognize the toll their work can take, there are many resources available to help social work students and practitioners look out for their own needs so that they are able to stay motivated and focused while accounting for their lives outside of work.
This guide provides an index of mental health resources for social work students and practitioners to help them process and address their own concerns. Prioritizing your mental health is an important part of supporting your career longevity, so don’t wait until you’re in desperate need yourself before incorporating these practices into your professional life. By looking after your own needs, you’ll be ensuring that you can provide quality care for a long time to come.
Social Workers Have Mental Health Needs Too
Providing social services frequently makes practitioners aware of their own privileges in life as they are witness to the often painfully difficult circumstances underserved individuals and communities face every day. However, having these privileges does not mean social workers are without mental health needs of their own. In fact, as those on the front lines of many public crises, social workers are frequently witnesses to unspeakably tragic and upsetting events, many of which emerge from circumstances beyond any one person’s control.
Providing support to others does not mean social workers should neglect their own mental health concerns. In fact, it is all the more reason they should account for their own needs.
There’s nothing selfish or indulgent about recognizing that your own interests matter while you are taking care of others. In fact, it’s something all social work professionals need to learn, as neglecting these necessities can make maintaining a productive and fulfilling work life impossible in the long run.
Mental Health Challenges Faced by Social Workers
Social workers provide a wide array of services that can look altogether different from one professional’s experience to the next. However, there are some common mental health issues that can arise across job titles and focus areas as a direct result of the difficult work social workers do.
Some of the top mental health issues faced by social workers include the following:
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Substance abuse and other forms of addiction
- Insomnia
- Compulsive behavior
Compassion Fatigue and Burnout
As you are making your way through the social work profession, you may hear other practitioners use an eye-catching expression: compassion fatigue. Now a popular buzzword among any professionals whose work involves supporting vulnerable people, it emerged from the recognition that these critical, high-stress jobs can lead care providers to “max out” on the empathy they are able to provide to people. In more casual terms, when you see tragic events day in and day out, it can all feel like too much. For this reason, many social workers who were moved to join the field out of empathy and care for others begin to shut down as an act of self-protection.
Compassion fatigue and burnout are real issues social workers experience, and they can only be prevented with conscientious effort and care.
After all, social workers hope to build career paths that they can sustain for a long time to come, which requires their enthusiasm and energy. Since social workers are vulnerable to the same setbacks as anyone else, it is crucial that they take it upon themselves to address their most pressing needs – whether they are prompted by their work or not – so that they can continue to receive all clients with empathy and an open heart.
The Importance of Self-Care in Social Work
One of the most important ways of staving off compassion fatigue as well as the many other mental health issues one can face as a social worker is by practicing self-care. Indeed, while the very concept of self-care has recently come into vogue, social workers have long understood that developing conscious techniques to look after their own mental health interests was an important part of their job.
Self-care can look different for everyone, but there are several popular ways social workers can invest in their mental health. Many practitioners would argue that these are among the most important social worker resources professionals can develop. These include:
- Attending therapy
- Maintaining rigid boundaries between work time and free time
- Cultivating outside hobbies
- Spending time in nature
- Enjoying dedicated leisure activities
- Connecting with fellow social workers, either individually or in group contexts
- Meditating
Some of these strategies are intended to enrich social workers’ personal lives, while others are aimed at addressing the conflicts that can arise in social work directly. For most people, finding a mix of both is the key to maintaining high spirits and a lasting commitment to the work of helping others. Whatever it is that you require, know this: self-care isn’t selfish. It’s actually a vital part of helping those around you.
Mental Health Resources
Below is an index of mental health resources for practicing social workers. You can see these as among the most important social work career resources you’ll find, as they can become part of your long-term approach to the difficult responsibilities of your job.
Educational Resources
In accounting for your emotional needs, it can be helpful to build your mental health vocabulary, understanding the array of issues social workers can face as well as the well-researched methods that exist to fight those issues.
The following educational resources are arranged by topic, allowing social workers to focus on the exact topic they wish to learn more about.
Self-Care
If you’re looking to reinvest in your own mental health needs as a social worker, it can be helpful to have a toolbox of techniques and tricks to draw from. Different self-care methods work for different people, so it’s a great idea to experiment with the different recommendations in these resources to figure out what works best for you. Those who work on close-knit teams with other social work professionals can and should also consult with their colleagues to hear what self-care tactics and techniques they are employing to maintain a dedicated work ethic.
Compassion Fatigue and Burnout
While the resources in the “self-care” section of this index might best be used by social workers hoping to prevent compassion fatigue, those in this section are intended for those who may already be facing symptoms of burnout. If this is you, there’s no reason to feel shame or weakness in admitting that you’ve gotten to this point. What’s important is to acknowledge that these feelings are impacting your work so that you can take the initiative to do something about them.
These resources may be a balm for those who feel unheard in their frustrations or misunderstood by loved ones who may not fully grasp the emotional intensity of day to day life as a social worker. If you’re worried you’re experiencing compassion fatigue, it’s highly recommended to take a look at these guides to better understand your own experience and what you can do to take care of yourself.
- Compassion Fatigue Self-Tests
- EduMed: Understand & Overcome Your Compassion Fatigue: An Online Guide
- Exploring Compassion Fatigue, Burnout, Compassion Satisfaction and Mindfulness in Direct Service Providers
- NASW: Compassion Fatigue and Resources for Social Workers
- NASW: Self-Care and Avoiding Burnout
Resources for Social Work Students
The best time to incorporate self-care practices into your social work career is right at the beginning. It can be hard to set boundaries once you have already hit your stride in your occupation, but if you assert them at the outset of your social work practice, it will be easier to maintain them and protect and preserve your mental health in the long term. For this reason, the resources below may be among the most important social work resources for students you’ll receive over the course of your education.
- NASW: Burnout and Self-Care in Social Work
- The New Social Worker: Mindfulness: 10 Lessons in Self-Care for Social Workers
- The Resilient Practitioner: Burnout and Compassion Fatigue Prevention and Self-Care Strategies for the Helping Professions, by Michelle Trotter-Mathison and Thomas M. Skovholt
- University of Buffalo: Introduction to Self-Care for Social Work Students
Therapy and Counseling Services
If you’re an LCSW, your job may entail providing direct counseling and therapy to people struggling with mental health issues of all types. This means that you likely already understand the profound benefits of therapy, which can be absolutely critical for those whose emotional and psychological concerns are getting in the way of the rest of their lives.
While many if not most social workers are proponents of therapy for people in need, they may be less quick to identify themselves among those who would benefit from direct support. If you’re struggling, though, it’s highly encouraged to seek counseling yourself, as it can make an enormous difference in improving your outlook and addressing issues like anxiety and depression at the source.
The following organizations offer access points to quality service specifically for mental health professionals. There are many different types of therapy out there, so it’s encouraged to do your own research on local options to find the best choice for your needs.
Support Groups
Finally, it can be of great solace to overwhelmed social workers to find a community of fellow social work professionals who can understand and empathize with the unique stresses of the job. Beyond offering a compassionate ear, your professional counterparts may have their own tips and tricks for self-care that may be illuminating to you as you design your own system of self-care to subtend your practice.
It can be tricky to find support groups, but the following organizations and websites can be great places to start your search for a network of like-minded professionals to lean on during hard times: