Beyond Self-Care - What Neuroscience is Teaching Us About the Impact of Empathic Engagement - May 2026

Capability Levels: Emerging, Evolving, Established, Expert

This workshop with explore current thinking and emerging research around the effects of empathic engagement with others at work on self, teams and life beyond work. It will examine concepts of vicarious trauma and vicarious resilience in light of the work around the neuroscience of empathy and provide new understandings, as well as practical strategies for managing individual and workplace stressors. There will also be consideration of the additional cognitive and emotional load that comes from passive engagement with traumatic material.

The workshop will outline the importance of being aware of various styles of empathy and reactions to stress, and how this impacts our ability to be attuned and connected with those we are supporting/ working with. It covers self-care strategies, based on sensory profiles and the impact on work systems.

The workshop would aim to:

• Legitimise social worker feelings of disconnection, exhaustion and stress
• Demystify the impacts of vicarious trauma on self, teams and life beyond work
• Assist participants consider practical strategies to implement individually and within their team / services to address these impacts
• Provide tools to consider using individually and within teams

Who should attend?

This is for all social workers, those engaged in direct client work but also those who work in other settings, as it will ask participants to think about the impact their work has on them professionally and personally. It will bring a new perspective on how to survive the impacts of the work well and is suitable for social workers looking to reflect on this at any stage of their career, and to support others to do so. It will cover some practical strategies to manage the impacts of the work and allow time for application.

Learning Outcomes:

By the end of this program, participants will be able to:

• Locate emerging understandings of vicarious and collective trauma within both the historical context and recent neuroscience findings.
• Articulate the different forms of empathic engagement and how they each impact social workers professional and personal responses to the work
• Implement some practical strategies to address these impacts individually and collectively
• Critically analyse what the vicarious trauma research tells us about the organisational responsibilities for well-being and longevity in the workplace

Event Structure:

Introduction

Learning Session 1: A Contextual Profession (50 minutes)

Activity 1: Empathy and its types

Learning Session 2: Tools for understanding impacts (40 minutes)

Activity 2: Indicators and preferences

Learning Session 3: Professional Resilience (40 minutes)

Activity 3: Reflection Questions

Learning Session 4: At the systemic level (50 minutes)

Activity 4: Emotional Rollercoaster + Systemic Implementation

Q&A and Conclusion

This Workshop is not recorded, however, you will have access to materials and resources on AASW Online Learning for 4 weeks after the completion of the workshop.

AASW Credentials: Mental Health, Clinical SW