Fostering resilience the importance of staff care programs, and what to do when they are not available…
As a consultant, I work with humanitarians and aid organizations to find ways to institute Staff Care programs and I provide therapy to aid workers.
Each time I start a new project, I’m overwhelmed by the level of emotion present. I see people crying or yelling at their co-workers. Both are likely signs of trauma (whether primary or secondary) and burnout. More often then not, by the time a staff care program starts, staff are already suffering from vicarious trauma, burn out and compassion fatigue.
Trauma & Control
When a person experiences trauma we seek control, as the antidote. We were not in control when something bad happened. So, we blame ourselves, and try to find solutions so it won’t happen again. Or we try to control the behaviors of others to get the others to do things the ‘right’ way (our way!).
In aid work, this can create significant problems. When we find that we cannot control other people’s behaviors, we may be cynical or pessimistic, thinking “Why try, because nothing we do matters anymore anyways….” “We can’t really help anyone…” We may even begin to blame our clients or accuse them of lying or manipulating. Because if they are not being honest with us, we don’t have to feel bad if we can’t help them in the way they need us too…
“I’m NOT STRESSED” the impact of stress on our work
For aid workers, our identity is often closely linked to our work. So, once we start feeling like our work no longer matters, it impacts our sense of self.
Of course, when we are trying to control others or becoming pessimistic, we usually don’t notice that these are protective actions. They try to protect us from further harm. But instead of protecting ourselves we may be creating a toxic work space or eroding the quality of services we provide.
Even as a work environment sours and services deteriorate, agencies are not always in a position to create staff care programs. Either because the agency is unaware of the need. Or because the funding needed is simply not there.
Many agencies provide some level of staff care, such as phone counseling for ex-pat staff. But, Staff Care programs for National staff are not always available. And for many aid workers, phone counseling programs cannot provide the level of support they need, because of lack of self-awareness and stigma.
Honestly, I cannot count the number of times someone has yelled at me to insist they are NOT STRESSED (hint: if you are yelling at someone, to assure yourself and them you are not stressed… you’re probably stressed).
In my own life, I’m guilty of this too. Friends will say, I think you might be stressed, and I will say no I’m not. I work people who are stressed all the time. I know stress… But I don’t always know it in myself. And they are always right. Generally, the people we love see when we are struggling before we do. And without self-awareness we are unlikely to use the few supports that are available.
Stigma against asking for help in the aid worker remains a big challenge. So, a worker may have self-awareness but may worry that people will think you’re weak if they find out you used the service provided… People often tell me that this work is supposed to be hard, and it’s not for everyone. And that is true. Working with traumatized people every day, in under resourced areas with questionable security is supposed to be hard. And no level of counseling will change the circumstances of the work. But, with counseling and staff care programs, the office environment and our own emotional distress doesn’t have to make the work harder. Not everyone wants to do this type of work, but if you do want to do this work, and you want to keep doing this work well, then you have to take care of yourself.
Beyond the option to call a counselor, staff need training and discussion opportunities that normalize the need for support and the emotional burden that this work places on people. Rigorous Staff Care Programs are an important agency’s Duty to Care. The core of this work is dignity and humanity for the beneficiary. But dignity and humanity are exactly what are missing for the aid worker, when we don’t recognize and value their need for support, or when we ignore the impact of burnout, vicarious trauma and compassion fatigue.
Tips for Aid Workers
For the time being, a lot of aid workers are on their own in figuring out how to care for themselves and manage their feelings of stress so that those feelings do not begin to run their lives and ruin their relationships.
While agencies fight to find funding and support for staff care programming, I thought I would introduce a couple of self-care ideas that individual people can use to support themselves: reducing exposure and routine.
Reducing Exposure. Burnout, vicarious trauma and compassion fatigue all happen over time. They are an accumulation of experiences. An accumulation of traumatic stories told by beneficiaries and an accumulation of frustration within the work place. When we open social media, or media in general, stories those feelings of stress continue to accumulate.
If you’re working in GBV, and then binge-watching Orange is the New Black or Law & Order SVU, your stress levels, likely, remain heightened. When you are working with beneficiaries who have experienced war, and then you’re opening your news app every hour, there’s no break and the world can begin to seem like an endless barrage of the harm humans do to other humans.
Instead, consider looking at the news app only once a day. Consider finding a comedy to watch, and decreasing the number of crime shows you watch or the number of hours you spend watching them. For many people, these suggestions may seem too simple. But they may be what you need to give yourself a little extra space. So, try them out for a week or two, just to see how you feel.
Routine. Earlier I mentioned how we seek control after we feel traumatized. Routine is a great way to re-institute a sense of control. It helps us feel like we know what to expect, at least more or less. Routine, helps us manage our emotions, our impulses, and our overall sense of well-being.
Set up a daily routine that takes into account what you know about yourself and your needs. Consider including physical activity that makes you feel good, something work related or creative that gives you a sense of pride, and time for connecting with people you care about. If you are a news junky, then put your daily update into your routine(perhaps just before a workout, instead of just before you go to sleep).
Neither of these suggestions will resolve everything you may be feeling and experiencing. But they can help. Try them out for a few weeks and see if they work for you.
And of course, if you are starting to wonder whether or not counseling may be helpful to you, consider reaching out to your agency’s assistance program, or to someone like me.
* The American Psychological Association has put together a list of 10 ways to build resilience: making connections, avoiding tendency to view things as insurmountable, accepting change as natural and unavoidable, moving towards your goal, taking decisive action to face challenges, looking for opportunities for self-discovery, nurturing a positive view of self and abilities, keeping things in perspective and context, hopeful outlook and practicing self-care[1]. This article is the first in a series that will look at each of these resilience building topics.
** Kristen Guskovict is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and the founder of Humanitarian Empathy & Refugee Trauma (HEART) of Aid Work. She specializes in work with refugees and refugee service providers. More information about her can be found at www.heartofaidwork.com
[1] American Psychological Association (2018) The road to resilience: 10 ways to build resilience, APA Help Center. Retrieved on 10/8/18 from https://www.apa.org/helpcenter/road-resilience.aspx
