Self-Care & Self-Compassion for Psychologists - EVENING SESSION

Please note that this event will NOT be recorded

Introduction:

Two separate areas will be covered in this practical seminar: Self-Care and Self-Compassion. A range of research in the self-care field will be covered - including the work of Mclean; and Newell & MacNeil that contributed to the content of the NZPS Jubilee seminar for Psychologists delivered by the presenter to Southern regional psychologists. This will be added to from the more recent work of Norcross and VandenBos’ 2nd edition of “Leaving it at the Office” book. The work of Dr. Kristin Neff on Self-Compassion, as applied to practical exercises with website resources provided for practice outside of this seminar, will be briefly covered in this seminar.

Participants will feel empowered to commit to their own Individual Self-Care Plan and assess whether they can apply the principles and practice of Self-Compassion to themselves and with their clients.

Learning Objectives for the Seminar:

• To understand and identify how: daily functioning (sleep, appetite/diet, exercise, relaxation, mood and social supports); organisational and systemic problems or supports; work practice behaviours including work-related stress and distress/burnout contribute positively or negatively to overall Self-Care
• To become aware of and learn to avoid the ‘problem indicators’ of compassion fatigue, vicarious trauma and burnout; with a focus on vicarious resilience
• To identify and challenge and reframe unhelpful Therapist Beliefs that can lead to burnout
• Discussion of Self-Care in Practice Behaviours and Commit to relevant goals in an Individual Self-Care Plan
• To learn Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction strategies for ‘busy professionals on the run’
• To learn about the importance of applying Self-Compassion in our own and our client’s lives
• To practice a Self-Compassion exercise using all the elements of Dr. Kristin’s Neff’s work
• To use a combination of Tender and Fierce Self-Compassion self-soothing statements for self and clients

The Presenter Diane Bellamy

Diane Bellamy is a Registered Counselling Psychologist working in her private practice: “Positive Psychology South”, based in Dunedin. She completed her psychology tertiary training in Australia and has lived and worked in NZ for almost 20 years. While her Master’s degree was in trauma recovery (Criminology from Melbourne University), she has worked in schools as an educational psychologist and in many and varied organisations in Australia and NZ.

Diane reports that her practical focus and coaching-type communication style are her key assets in the real and positive outcomes for her clients. She says she is at the age and stage of life in her late 50s to teach and pass on learning to others. Accordingly, she provides professional supervision to psychologists and middle to senior managers in organisations; and she has taught and tutored medical students at the Dunedin Medical School. In her public service career, she provided training and consultancy to a range of public servants across Victoria, Australia. Some Society Members may know Diane through her voluntary role as Director of Professional Issues for the NZPS for 2 years and her 5 years as Chair of the Otago-Southland Branch and she remains an active Member of the NZPS.

In the year following her husband’s death, Diane completed an intensive Diploma in Applied Positive Psychology with a focus on resilience research and applications. Diane has a repetitive theme to her life: “You have to walk the talk” including the commitment to your own self-care. She remains committed to high standards of professionalism and ethics and ensuring her own and peers attention to a genuine work-life balance in order to function better clinically and take care of their precious wellbeing.