The Professional Is the Personal: A Qualitative Exploration of Self-Care Practices in Clinical Infant Mental Health Practitioners

The present study examined the relationships between COVID‐related stress, mental health and professional burnout in the infant and early child mental health (IECMH) workforce and examined reflective supervision and consultation (RSC) as a potential protective factor in the context of COVID‐related stress. Participants included 123 adults (n = 121 female, modal age range 30–39 years) in the TN IECMH workforce (mean years of experience = 13.6 years) surveyed in June/July 2020. Sector representation was quite varied (home visiting, childcare, child welfare, early intervention). Results indicated the majority (63%) of the sample was caring for someone else (e.g., child or elderly person) while working at home, 46% of the sample had depression symptoms (18% in the moderate‐severe range), and 75% of the sample had anxiety symptoms (33% in the moderate‐severe range). Higher COVID stress was associated with higher internalizing symptoms and burnout levels and this relationship was mediated by self‐care behaviors such that the more COVID stress one reported, the fewer self‐care behaviors they engaged in, and the higher the risk for internalizing and burnout. Finally, the pathway from COVID stress to self‐care behaviors was moderated by RSC. IECMH professionals who received less than 1 year (or no experience) of RSC showed a significant decrease in self‐care behaviors during times of low, average and high levels of COVID stress compared to those who received 1 year or more of RSC. Implications for both policy and practice will be discussed.

Section: 3mentioning

confidence: 99%

Taking care of the caregivers: The moderating role of reflective supervision in the relationship between COVID‐19 stress and the mental and professional well‐being of the IECMH workforce

Morelen

Najm

Wolff

et al. 2022

“…This is important to consider because embedding RS in the workplace may be one of the most efficient ways to deliver RS. To date, the IECMH field has minimal empirical data chronicling supervisee perspectives about reflective supervisory experiences (Barron, 2019;Eaves et al, 2020;Gallen et al, 2016;Watson & Gatti, 2012). Findings from Barron (2019) and Eaves et al (2020) suggest that there is variation among supervisees with regards to understanding what RS is and it's intent.…”

Section: 3mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To date, the IECMH field has minimal empirical data chronicling supervisee perspectives about reflective supervisory experiences (Barron, 2019;Eaves et al, 2020;Gallen et al, 2016;Watson & Gatti, 2012). Findings from Barron (2019) and Eaves et al (2020) suggest that there is variation among supervisees with regards to understanding what RS is and it's intent. Supervisees may also be uncertain about whether the supervision they receive can be called reflective.…”

Section: 3mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Professional quality of life in home visitors: Core components of the reflective supervisory relationship and IMH‐E^® Endorsement^® engagement

Eaves

Robinson

Brown

et al. 2022

Self Cite

Infant and early childhood home visiting models are gaining prominence as effective programs for families. Most U.S. state infant mental health associations (IMHAs) recommend reflective supervision (RS) and Infant Mental Health (IMH‐E®) Endorsement® as components of home visitor professional development. These efforts may promote workforce professional quality of life. It is unknown whether a workplace policy to provide RS improves the likelihood that best practice guidelines, especially core components of a reflective supervisory relationship, are experienced by the workforce. We sought to investigate associations between home visitor well‐being indicated by professional quality of life (i.e., burnout, secondary traumatic stress, compassion satisfaction) and a workplace policy providing RS, consistent experience of core components of a reflective supervisory relationship, and engagement in endorsement. We also examined differences in consistently experiencing core components of the reflective supervisory relationship in home visitors who reported having a workplace policy for providing RS and those who did not, and for home visitors engaged or not engaged in the endorsement process. A Workplace Supports Survey was designed to investigate these associations; we report findings from a sample of home visitor respondents (N = 139). A policy to provide RS was not associated with professional quality of life. However, analyses suggest an association between a policy to provide RS and consistently experiencing core components of a reflective supervisory relationship. Unanticipated positive associations between engagement in endorsement and burnout and secondary traumatic stress were also found. Finally, engagement in endorsement was associated with less consistent experience of these core components. Implications for future inquiry about the purposes of RS and IECMH Endorsement® as strategies to promote workforce development and well‐being are discussed.

“…Drawing on their words may be particularly effective in attracting workers to IECMH trainings. Findings from a recent qualitative investigation underscored the personal value of reflective supervision: the majority of clinicians described reflective supervision as an integral part of the self‐care that they use to manage work‐related stress (Eaves et al., 2020). Of note, since the primary purpose of pre‐post tests was to provide feedback on training effectiveness and not for research purposes, participant demographics were not collected.…”

Section: Lessons Learned and Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sparking collaboration and instilling core competencies through training a statewide workforce in Infant Mental Health: Report from the field

Dealy

Robinson

Eaves

et al. 2021

Self Cite

Fostering collaboration and instilling core competencies across the diverse Infant Mental Health systems and understanding their training needs are crucial endeavors to support the delivery of evidence-based care and treatment continuity for infants and their families. This paper details the Connecticut Association for Infant Mental Health's use of a comprehensive infant mental health training series as a vehicle to achieve these aims. The training series, and the steps taken to execute and evaluate it are described to provide a framework for future collaborative training initiatives. Evaluation efforts were designed to address knowledge sought and gained and included pre and posttraining tests, participant reports of their training goals and needs, and interviews with trainers regarding the series' strengths and limitations. Findings suggest significant improvements in participants' knowledge of training content across trainings. Participants indicated a desire for trainings on working with the whole family and their plan to integrate skills from the training into their work. Recommendations from trainers and evaluators are provided to spark future trainings and collaborative efforts.