PCN-373 T7 Personal Wellness Plan

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Grand Canyon University *

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373

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Arts Humanities

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Apr 3, 2024

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1 Personal Wellness Plan Glenda A. Robles College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Grand Canyon University PCN-373 – Spirituality and Addiction Ms. Anne Smith December 05, 2021 Personal Wellness Plan

2 The focus of this paper will be a discussion of my own personal wellness plan. How to maintain health as I work with clients and families experiencing issues related to death and dying will be described. The requirement for ongoing clinical supervision will be discussed. Strategies to maintain my own physical and mental health will be reviewed. Interventions to prevent burnout and address compassion fatigue will be given. In the event of a patient’s death, I, as a therapist, will be called upon to monitor my own well-being and its impact on my capacity to work sufficiently and competently. Requirement for Ongoing Clinical Supervision Grief and loss are issues that those in the counseling profession face in both their own personal and professional life, including the death of those with whom they have a close relationship, such as a client. The death of someone with whom a counselor had a close relationship can be an especially traumatic experience (Hansson & Stroebe, 2007). Practitioners frequently assist clients in dealing with both the aftermath of a loved one's death and their own losses. When a client dies, the counselor faces numerous ethical and emotional issues. The requirement for ongoing clinical supervision is to maintain quality services and ensure the confidentiality of clients. Ethics and confidentiality are vital in counseling, and this includes issues related to death and dying. The clinical supervisor must normalize the counselor's reactions to stress and compassion fatigue in the job as a natural component of being an empathic and compassionate person, rather than an individual flaw or disease (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2009). Grief over the death of a client can be especially painful. Clinical supervision provides an opportunity for the counselor to discuss feelings of bereavement, stages of grief, guilt, sadness, and a space to reflect on the case. These reactions, if not treated properly, can obstruct and ultimately impede current and future clinical treatment. On

3 the other side, if one can learn to manage their wounds, they may put them to better use in serving future clients (O’Brien, 2011). This involves appropriate self-care and engagement with supervisory staff. It is critical that counselors experiencing death and dying receive the assistance they require. Working through grief is important for the counselor to maintain their physical and mental health. Strategies to Maintain Physical and Mental Health A psychologist’s grief over a client’s death can be especially difficult if the psychotherapy has triggered the psychologist’s past and/or present grief. If these reactions are not appropriately managed, they can hamper and ultimately impair present and future clinical practice. However, if the counselor can learn to manage their wounds, they can use these wounds to better serve their clients. Physical and mental health can also be at risk when counseling someone that is terminally ill. Providing ethical and effective care to persons who are critically or terminally ill requires appropriate self-care and engagement with colleagues (O’Brien, 2011). Supervisors' and friends' or family's emotional support might help you cope with the loss of a client (McAdams & Foster, 2002). Instead of meaningless promises like “you did all that you could” or platitudes about the inevitability of death, therapists need nonjudgmental support and affirmation of feelings. Attempts to make sense of the client's death may lead clinicians to seek contact with the client's family members, such as attending the funeral/memorial service or having a personal meeting with a family member (Strom-Gottfried & Mowbray, 2006), though these must be discussed with colleagues regarding ethical practices. Increased prayer, exercise, and meditation, as well as seeking individual counseling and learning more about death, including suicide, have all been mentioned as coping mechanisms.

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