Addressing Burnout and Building Resilience for APS Line Staff
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About Us
Providing approximately 50,000 learning experiences to health and human services professionals annually, the Academy’s mission is to provide exceptional workforce development and learning experiences for the transformation of individuals, organizations and communities.
APSWI, or Adult Protective Services Workforce Innovations, is a program of the Academy that provides innovative workforce development to APS professionals and their partners.
The Academy for Professional Excellence is a project of SDSU School of Social Work. Funding is administered by SDSU Research Foundation.
San Diego State University
Purpose of Land Acknowledgement
The purpose of a land acknowledgement is to recognize the relationship of Indigenous peoples to the land. It is multi-faceted in its meaning. It shows respect to the people of the land, to the land itself and to their relationship to one another. They are statements that recognize the dispossession from the land, the harm brought by colonial practices, beliefs and policies. They validate and recognize the continued presence of Indigenous peoples everywhere. Lastly, when offered in earnest and with sincerity, they are the first steps in reconciliation and healing.
Land Acknowledgement
National Deliveries
For millennia, hundreds of Tribal nations have been a part of this land. This land has nourished, healed, protected, and embraced them for many generations in a relationship of balance and harmony.
As members of the Academy community, we acknowledge this legacy. We promote this balance and harmony. We find inspiration from this land and its original inhabitants of this Nation.
�Making a statement isn’t enough. It is important that we share ways people can take action to support Native American people and land back efforts. This can involve researching and learning more about the indigenous communities of the lands you are on at Native Land Digital; returning artifacts and land to their appropriate tribal communities; working to protect and preserve the land, and much more.
For more information and resources, see our Land Acknowledgement page.
Housekeeping & Introductions
us keep to the schedule
Learning Objectives
Tour of Workplace Stress
Workplace Stress
Burnout
Secondary Traumatic Stress
Empathic Distress
Moral Distress
Burnout
A syndrome resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed.
Burnout - Warning Signs
How does it present?
It is characterized by three dimensions:
Secondary Traumatic Stress
Stress caused by exposure to another’s primary trauma– through images, descriptions or observed reactions.
It presents in a continuum of severity:
Normal Stress Reactions
STS Symptoms
Functional Impairment
PTSD
Secondary Traumatic Stress - Warning Signs
How does it present?
Empathic Distress �(Compassion Fatigue)
The subtle erosion of one’s ability to care and invest in the work of alleviating the suffering of another.
Empathic Distress - Warning Signs
How does it present?
Moral Distress
An emotional reaction to the experience of organizational policies, mandates, or regulations being in direct conflict with one’s own sense of moral responsibility.
How does it present?
An internal reaction that alerts you to the dissonance between your values and the constraints from your organization.
At a Glance
Type of Workplace Stress | Cause | Presentation |
Burnout | Chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed |
|
Secondary Traumatic Stress | Exposure to another person’s primary trauma |
|
Empathetic Distress | Slow erosion of ability to care from exhaustion, lack of resources or personal challenges |
|
Moral Distress | Workplace policies, mandates, expectations in violation of personal values |
|
10-Minute Break (1)
A Deeper Look at Burnout
Let’s Sort!
Worker Profiles
Overextended
Disengaged
Ineffective
Engaged
How Does Someone Get There?
“…burnout arises from increasing mismatches between workers and workplaces.” (Maslach & Leiter, 2022)
WORK OVERLOAD
LACK OF CONTROL
INSUFFICIENT REWARDS
BREAKDOWN OF COMMUNITY
LACK OF FAIRNESS
VALUES CONFLICT
Whose Job is it Anyway?
Who holds the burden of responsibility to resolve burnout?
Remember This…
ORGANIZATIONAL RESPONSIBILITY | INDIVIDUAL RESPONSIBILITY |
Resolve the values and need mismatches between the employees and the workplace | Manage symptoms of burnout by prioritizing personal health practices and implementing boundaries |
Seek and implement feedback from employees | Offer feedback and support changes in the workplace |
Demand/Control Model
Control/Demands | Low Demands | High Demands |
High Control | Low strain | Active *higher learning motivation |
Low Control | Passive | High strain *high risk of illness and mental/emotional strain |
Concern/Influence/Control
CIRCLE OF CONTROL
Circle of Influence
Circle of Concern
Radical Acceptance
Honest self-reflection
Focused effort
Commitment
Radical Acceptance is not:
Apathetic
Passive
Circle Sorting
CIRCLE OF CONTROL
Change the Goal
10-Minute Break (2)
Building Resilience in the Circle of Control
Intentional Engagement
Self-Awareness
Skillful Intervention
Self-Awareness
“Knowing your own darkness is the best method for dealing with the darknesses of other people.”
-C.G. Jung
Contributing Factors
This tool was developed by Françoise Mathieu, TEND, Leslie Ann Ross, UCLA, and the Secondary Traumatic Stress Consortium, a group of researchers, trainers, practitioners, and advocates with a common goal to advance the field of secondary traumatic stress towards health. Special thanks to R. Cuellar, A. Hendricks, M. Clarke, and G. Sprang of the National Childhood Traumatic Stress Network (NCSTN) for contributing the Socio-Cultural Context circle.
Warning Signs
Red (top):
Yellow (middle):
Green (bottom):
Intentional Engagement
Hyperarousal
The result of chronic trauma taking over the body’s adaptive threat and alarm systems to become excessively alert.
The impact of hyperarousal is:
How We Think the Workday Looks…
Time in the workday
Stress Level
How the Workday Actually Looks…
Time in the workday
Stress Level
Edges of Stress Events
BEGINNING
PREPARE
MIDDLE
MAINTAIN
END
RECOVER
INTENTIONAL ENGAGEMENT
SKILLFUL INTERVENTIONS
Beginning of the Stress Event
Avoidance: keeping clients at an emotional “arms’ length”
Overinvolvement: becoming overly empathically connected with the client
Images were generated using AI
Another Approach
Be a window: Using empathic connection to respond to the suffering and needs of another while staying grounded within oneself.
Images were generated using AI
Muddy Middle - �Close the Window
Unmirroring: unhooking your body posture and speaking tone from the client
Slowing empathic imagery: paint the picture the client reports
Images were generated using AI
The Sterile Middle - �Open the Window
Make observations: Slow down the conversation and begin to reflect back to the other person
Interconnectedness: remember that all humans are connected by the experience of emotion.
Images were generated using AI
The Recovery
How am I?
Feet on the floor:
Hot, Walk, Talk
Green Cross Ethical Guidelines
Balance Map
Body
Mind
Soul
Getting enough sleep | Limiting coffee | Nutritious lunch |
Setting boundaries when I’m overwhelmed | Making daily plans | Taking 5 minutes to organize my desk |
Going out to lunch with a friend 1x/month | Regenerative activities after work | Saying thank you to my coworkers |
Review
P-I-E
Reflect and note:
Thank You!
We envision a world where the quality of life for individuals, organizations, and communities is transformed into a healthier place.