Capability adjustment program helps social service workers reduce stress and trauma after a disaster

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – An intervention called Caregivers Journey of Hope can help social service workers – especially those with the least experience in the field – to reduce the stress and trauma they may experience when helping members of the community. community to recover from a disaster. new study found.

According to co-authors of the study, social work professors from the University of Illinois, Tara Powell and Kate M. Wegmann, there is a significant need for health interventions mental for social service workers, who present a high risk of burnout, chronic stress and emotional distress.

"Given that many people in the helping professions may be trying to rebuild their lives by helping traumatized people in the community, it is essential to provide these workers with the training and tools they need to take action. in hand their own physical, emotional and social health, to help them reduce their stress and avoid burnout, "said Powell, who led the study.

Powell and his co-authors examined the impact of Caregivers Journey of Hope's workshop on 722 professionals who badisted the victims of Storm Sandy in New York and New Jersey.

Sandy ravaged the east coast of the United States, Canada, and the Caribbean in October 2012, killing more than 200 people and injuring more than $ 70 billion. According to the study, New York and New Jersey are among the hardest hit regions in the Americas, where 87 people have died and more than 650,000 homes have been damaged or destroyed.

Powell co-developed Caregivers' Journey of Hope program by working for Save the Children. The program was designed to strengthen the resilience of New Orleans social workers, teachers and children and reduce the emotional turmoil they experienced following Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Recovery after a disaster often takes years, noted Powell and Wegmann in the study. Working closely with traumatized clients and experiencing terror and proxy pain can affect the mental health of counselors and social workers.

In turn, this distress can trigger a host of emotional, behavioral, physical and interpersonal problems, negatively affecting the work performance and personal lives of caregivers, according to the study.

Getting social support can be especially important for counselors because the often-confidential nature of their work prevents them from talking about traumatic or stressful experiences outside the workplace, the researchers wrote.

"The half-day Journey of Hope workshop on caregivers offers front-line care providers the opportunity to address disaster-related stress in a safe and confidential environment, strengthen support social and develop strategies to cope with stressors in the workplace and at home, "Powell said. I said. "A profusion of research over the past two decades has shown that higher levels of stress are badociated with lower levels of social support."

Working in small groups, workshop participants share their experiences. explore the types, sources and effects of stress; and develop solutions, such as ways to build their social support networks. They also discuss strategies for rebuilding their communities and improving individual and community recovery.

Powell and Wegmann tested the intervention with social workers and counselors from 37 agencies in New York and New Jersey after Sandy.

The researchers found that stress levels had dropped significantly and that all other measures surveyed had been significantly improved.

The most recent caregivers at work – those with one to four years of experience – benefited the most, showing the greatest gains in their ability to recognize the signs and effects of stress and their ability to cope. perceived to face difficult situations.

"This discovery is particularly important because people with less experience in social services are at higher risk of experiencing various forms of distress among caregivers," said Wegmann. "Research has shown that those who feel they can actively cope with stressors or who have greater self-efficacy of adaptation tend to have better health and mental health outcomes. "

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The study, co-authored by graduate student Esther Shin, was recently published in Traumatology: an international journal.