Professional development on wellness and self-care can help everyone take a proactive role in supporting their own wellness and the wellness of other staff. Trainings on how to address sensitive and stressful topics are particularly important. Research shows that staff who work directly with families are eager for professional development on how to have conversations on sensitive topics. For example, home visitors report that talking with families about sensitive topics, such as child abuse and neglect, family conflict, and parental mental health and substance use, can be emotionally challenging and interfere with their ability to engage families.
You can support staff wellness by seeking out and prioritizing training and technical assistance in areas that can be stressful for staff. Strongly encourage family services professionals and home visitors to participate. And consider their unique schedules when planning activities. Training topics could include:
- Having sensitive conversations with families, including managing conflict and staying safe in the field
- Recognizing trauma and providing trauma-informed care
- Addressing and preventing compassion fatigue
- Supporting families experiencing parental mental health and substance use challenges
- Preventing, addressing, and reporting child abuse and neglect
- Supporting families experiencing intimate partner violence
- Promoting the resilience, healing, and wellness of families
- Identifying culturally responsive resources
Last Updated: January 16, 2024