Helping professionals live with special types of stresses.  When you give so much of yourself each day, it is hard to be concerned about your personal needs.  Some of us might even think it is selfish to give back to ourselves. At Empowered Parents, we know that in order to thrive professionally and personally, helping professionals need a new, more restorative lifestyle approach.

Are you a social worker, mental health counsellor, early childhood educator, or teacher or do you work in the health or justice system? Most people who have worked in these types of professions are well aware of how vital self-care is, but we often don’t take the time necessary to develop and then participate in our self-care plans.

During this workshop, you will learn about:

• What is Stress? The good and the bad. The obvious and hidden.
• The human stress response – fight, flight & freeze.
• Our arousal states and how this impacts our self-care.
• How to know when you are caught in a stress cycle.
• The energy vs. tension equation and its role in self-care.
• Sleep – its role in mental health, mood management and self-care.
• Mindfulness & Self Compassion – tools to increase self-care and calmness.
• Exercise – The role of movement in our stress management and self-care.
• Nature Therapy – Are you getting enough vitamin N?
• How to develop a personalized self–care toolkit.
• The role of holistic nutrition in your self-care plan
• How to create a supportive workplace community that values a culture of self-care.

At this Well-Shop, we will walk you through the signs of compassion fatigue, along with the science of caregiver self-care and compassion. We will help expand your understanding of what it means to be kind to yourself and nurture your own personal care so that we can thrive in your role as caregivers, counsellors, social workers, early childhood educators, teachers, or parents.  Self-care and compassion are vital to the mental health of our entire community – including family homes, schools, child care, or any setting involving vulnerable people who require care.