Assignment 2: Reflective Journal Entry—Designing a Self-Care Plan

Assignment 2: Reflective Journal Entry—Designing a Self-Care Plan 

Managing multiple responsibilities at school, at your field experience site, at your job, and at home can be exhausting. In addition, work in the field of mental healthcare can be emotionally taxing. It is understandable that some people become so overwhelmed they begin to experience symptoms of burnout. Those who are overloaded and who are involved in emotionally taxing work are at increased risk for burnout. 

Burnout is characterized by difficulty sleeping, abrupt changes in mood, difficulty concentrating, as well as physical symptoms, such as chronic aches or stomach upset. If left untreated, it leads to physical and mental exhaustion. Subsequently, burned out professionals tend to become relatively cold and detached with clients. They are less likely to be able to respond empathically, and they tend to pull away in an effort to make it through the day.

For this assignment, you will create a reflective journal entry in which you will design a self-care plan, using the template provided.

Download the Self-Care Plan Template here. 

Your self-care plan should include the following:

Identify at least three unhealthy coping strategies you tend to use to cope with stress. Describe how those strategies affect you negatively in any or all of the following dimensions of your life: 

Physical 

Psychological/mental 

Emotional 

Interpersonal 

Spiritual 

Identify at least two healthy coping strategies you can use on a daily basis that address each of the following dimensions of your well-being: 

Physical 

Psychological/mental 

Emotional 

Interpersonal/relational 

Spiritual 

List at least three individuals who will provide support, encouragement, and feedback to you as you practice your self-care plan.