Friday, December 13, 2024 | 9 AM – Noon

Hosted at: Deaconess Center for Child Well-Being 1000 N. Vandeventer Ave. St. Louis, MO 63113

Preserving the Self of the Social Worker: Ethical and Practical Strategies for Coping with Compassion Fatigue and Moral Injury

The self of the social worker is one of the primary tools that allows for effective treatment and services of the populations we work with. Our ability to understand our own experience of our work, process that experience, and apply that experience in helpful and ethical ways is paramount to our work. This incredible sensitivity and utilization of self is also the mechanism that exposes us to compassion fatigue, moral injury, burnout and secondary trauma. Social workers are expected to hold space for the most difficult situations, and often we are experiencing this exposure alone. As a result of this difficulty it is important for us to ensure we are self aware, utilizing support and supervision, and ensuring our compliance with the code of ethics is intact. In this training, we will look deeply at the self of the social work along with all of its applications. This training will discuss the uses of self and strategies for building safety to preserve and value that sense of self as professionals.

Objectives:

After this training each participant will:

1. Have a greater understanding of the risks and concerns unique to social work that can effect our proficient access to the use of self.
2. Understand the differences between moral injury, compassion fatigue, burnout and secondary trauma along with the ways these concerns create direct concerns related to ethical treatment.
3. Have a full understanding of the concept of the self of the social worker and multiple strategies for valuing and connecting to their sense of self.

Meet the Trainer:

Chaz Franke, MSW, LCSW has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from McKendree University, and a Master of Social Work degree from Saint Louis University (SLU). Chaz received his clinical license in 2009.

Chaz is a therapist and clinical supervisor for Light Source. A small group practice in Belleville, Illinois. Chaz is also adjunct faculty in the Saint Louis University MSW program.

Chaz has been practicing therapy full time since 2007. Since the beginning of his career as a therapist, Chaz has worked with trauma and its long reaching effects. This work has included extensive work with all ages and all walks of life. Chaz specializes in self compassion and integrating Eastern thought and philosophy into the therapeutic process. Chaz has presented on topics including, but not limited to Trauma, Wisdom and Self Compassion, Mindfulness, Self Care, Transference and countertransference, and Expanding the Self of the Helper.  Chaz provides both clinical and reflective supervision to clinicians across many settings to help further their ability to find their voice in the field and maintain engagement in their work.