Join our virtual essential well-being workshop style webinar, featuring evidence-based knowledge, insights, and practice tools to help social workers manage burnout and compassion fatigue in both their professional and personal lives.
Member price: $90.00 including GST (member price will display once logged in)
Non-member price: $180.00 including GST
Employer Partner Program price: $135.00 including GST
Join our virtual essential well-being workshop style webinar, featuring evidence-based knowledge, insights, and practice tools to help social workers manage burnout and compassion fatigue in both their professional and personal lives.
Investing in the well-being of Australian Social Workers, from a practice to policy has numerous benefits, including attracting and retaining talent, reducing staff retention costs, improving health, work-life balance, client outcomes, team cohesion, and productivity. This leads to a sustainable positive impact on our service delivery for marginalized individuals and families across Australian communities.
In a 2018 workforce survey and qualitative research in Victoria, social work services face pressure in the public system due to long waiting lists, heavy workloads, and limited capacity. The demand is expected to rise due to an aging population and increased policy focus on family violence, disability, and mental health. High-demand areas include family violence, aged care, disability, mental health, child protection, and Indigenous mental health. Social workers focus on improving human well-being and addressing systemic issues that may lead to inequality, injustice, and discrimination. In this report, some of the key areas of consideration for the social work workforce going forward include:
- Increasing research culture across the profession, and evidence and knowledge base of models of care delivery, to improve referrals and develop business cases for optimal staffing levels to improve patient outcomes.
- Review of pay across the public, community and not-for-profit (NFP) sectors.
- Developing career structures that recognise and encourage clinical expertise and experience.
- Improving access to high quality supervision across the workforce to reduce compassion fatigue and increase capacity.
- Investigate the need for increased social work services in rural areas.
- Embedding social workers where there are opportunities for prevention and early intervention by addressing psycho-social needs, such as in emergency departments and with ambulance teams.
https://www.health.vic.gov.au/sites/default/files/migrated/files/collections/research-and-reports/v/victorian-allied-health-workforce-project-2016/social-work-workforce-report.pdf
Burnout is not officially recognized as a mental health condition in Australia and the US, as it is not included in the ‘Diagnostic and Statistical Manual’. However, in the UK and Europe, it is categorized as an ‘occupational phenomenon’ by the World Health Organization.
This live virtual workshop will focus on one of the key considerations highlighted in this report: to reduce compassion fatigue, increase capacity and looking at ways to manage burnout.
Resources
- Presentation slides
- Workbook
Who should attend? This course is best suited to social workers, senior management, supervisors (and other allied health practitioners) a professional in child protection, educators, policy makers, public health sector, aged care, school, social justice, legal and court professionals, HR, educators, community, disability, organizations, police, mental health practice and Social Workers in private practice.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this program, participants will be able to:
- recognize signs of burnout and compassion fatigue.
- understand the application of ‘Polyvagal Theory’ and the role of our ‘Autonomic Nervous System’ in ensuring the physical and psychological safety of Social Workers.
- explore the significance of advocacy and innovation in social work well-being, from a policy to practice.
- gain valuable resources, engage in practical exercises and tools for burnout and compassion fatigue management and prevention.
AASW Credential: Mental Health (FPS); Supervision
Presenter
Caroline McGuinness is a passionate advocate for human rights and injustice, including a long-term commitment to see positive organisational change for Social Workers in their workplaces to co-design and embed wellbeing selfcare policies and practices to transform the work environment. With a background in child protection, domestic violence, and community development, she has developed a deep understanding of the challenges facing clients and fellow professional Social Workers, on the frontline. Caroline’s expertise in behavioural science, attachment theory, trauma-focused interventions, solution focused approaches to name a few with families, youth, and women across the lifespan. Her passion and focus on person-centred care and advocacy to create and holding a safe space for others is at the heart of who and what she does.
Caroline is a dynamic coach, mentor, and speaker. She is purpose-driven, with a desire to positively impact and help transform the lives of others. She has worked with many women and men but is particularly passionate about women’s empowerment and how she can inspire them to be active role models for change.
