Self-Care
Importance of Self-Care
When caring for children and young people it can be easy to forget about self-care. Even more so when caring for other peoples children and young people who may have experienced abuse.
Appointments, care team meetings, PEP'S, family time,as well as visits from social workers, health visitors etc.
Then there's social activities, it's easy to find your own needs pushed to the bottom of the to do pile.
Not to forget this is when things are going well, which is not always the case.
When the children and young people in your care go through times of stress, their behaviours and needs can become increasingly challenging and any self-care activities that you may have been doing can be pushed aside.
Practicing self-care is crucial when it comes to mental, emotional and physical health.
A stressed out carer cannot calm a stressed out child
Counselling
There can be many reasons people working with and caring for children and young people access talking therapies,
Such as
the emotional turmoil of a child or young person moving on from their care,
challenging behaviours, dealing with legal processes, secondary trauma etc.
Whatever the reason, if you need time to talk things through in a safe place at your own pace we are here for you.
We have connected with local counsellors to enable us to provide low cost counselling for those caring for or working with children and young people.
Professionalism in Foster Care
Being a foster carer and being a professional have been the focus of many debates.
As the needs of children and young people in foster care are changing, so to are frameworks for the provision of care needed.
Foster carers provide significantly more than child care for the children and young people they are placed with and as such the professional identity of foster carers needs to be addressed.
This resource aims to provide foster carers with tools to command respect and promote their professional identity.
Conflict Resolution
Conflict is inevitable when working with children, young people, their parents, carers and other professionals involved.
Conflicts arise from differences in needs, values and interests.
What is vital is how you respond to and manage conflict.
Reacting positively can help to highlight underlying issues and enable mutual understandings.
Finding a way to notice the link between emotional triggers, feelings and your behaviour and performance is important for emotional well-being.
This course looks into the use of the Karpman Drama Triangle and The Empowerment Dynamic as tools for conflict resolution.
TSD Standards 1(1,2,3) 2(1,3,5) 3(4,5) 4(1,2) 5(1,2,3,4,5,6,8) 6(3) 7(1,2,3,4).
