Maryville: Resisting Burnout and Vicarious Trauma with the ‘Zone of Fabulousness’

According to the National Institutes of Health, burnout has been on the rise for years among health care workers and is associated with increased risk of job dissatisfaction, suicide, and negative patient outcomes. Resisting burnout means we need to go beyond the self-care we are normally told to perform, and to shift towards building collective care to nurture our well-being, considering cultural, spiritual, relational and community-based ways to support ourselves and our communities. 

Using “The Zone of Balance,” a social-justice oriented framework developed by Canadian social worker Vikki Reynolds and her peer-led team, we will examine an alternative approach to burnout which includes the story of sustainability and the importance of collective care to nourish our hope, honor the strength we witness in the people we work alongside, and to allow us to work in alignment with our ethics. Participants will be invited to begin building a “solidarity team;” examine what ideas and practices sustain them; and plan for how they might access support when burnout arises. 

We will also develop a foundation for understanding responses to loss and hardship in our work from a place that holds dignity and respect for workers and the people we serve. We’ll consider what it means to practice “Holding on and Letting Go,” including strategies for honoring the lives of people we serve and our own best work while acknowledging the grief and pain of loss.

Who this workshop is for: 

Peer Support specialists and Peer Recovery Coaches who work in high-stress, high-trauma environments.

Learning Objectives:

At the conclusion of this training, participants will be able to:

1. Describe the function of self-care in peer work.
2. Explain why self-care is not sufficient for preventing burnout.
3. Describe the spectrum of how burnout manifests in the behavioral health workforce.
4. Name concrete strategies for inviting collective care and collective accountability.
5. Describe ways of carrying forth the lessons from grief and loss in the work.
6. Understand how to avoid re-traumatization in the debriefing process.

Trainer:

Leah Harris, MA is a peer with 20 years of experience in training the peer workforce across the U.S. As a result, Leah has a unique view into the common challenges peer workers face on the job. Leah has worked with and consulted numerous organizations including the National Association for State Mental Health Program Directors, the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law, Virgina Organization of Consumers Asserting Leader (VOCAL), and the National Empowerment Center. Leah is a certified ‘Zone of Fabulousness’ trainer and is excited to share this powerful set of approaches to resist burnout and reducing the impact of work-related trauma. 

Eligible for 11 MDHHS continuing education credits.

This Training is part of our Maryville Retreat. If you would like to attend The 2 Day WRAP, visit this link to sign up: 2 Day WRAP.

Registration: Please register below (on this site) using a credit or debit card, which is the quickest way to confirm your attendance.

ONLY if you need to pay by check, please complete this form (click here) and email it to: registration@mipeers.org. Do not use this form if you are paying by credit/debit card. Please note that this form takes up to 5 business days for processing, and placement is not assured until you receive a confirmation of your registration.

Cancellation Policy: Registrations may be transferred to another employee of the same agency upon written request to registration@mipeers.org. Cancellations must be received in writing at least 12 days prior to the date of the training. Failure to cancel registration within the allotted time will result in registration fees being forfeited. For questions, e-mail registration@mipeers.org.

Attendance Policy: You must attend the entire training. If you are more than 10 minutes late you will not be allowed to attend as part of the CE requirements. Breaks are built into the training schedule. Participants who miss more than 10 minutes of the training outside of scheduled breaks will not receive CE credit. Attendees must follow the training guidelines.