Social workers are known for supporting others; however, while doing so, they face challenging circumstances which then leads to burnout (McGarrigle & Walsh, 2011). Some social workers also attend graduate school, have careers, and a busy home life that can build stressful situations for them. It is important for one, especially social workers and social work graduate students, to have self-care and positively practice wellness on a regular basis to prevent oneself from burn out. In 2015, it is common for one to use social media as an outlet from their hectic reality. Internet addiction is rapidly developing in the world (Watson, 2005) and clinicians are experiencing difficulties in treating clients; cognitive behavioral therapy …show more content…
Social workers are aware that there are high demands for the job in supporting others through difficult challenges. By practicing self-care on a regular basis, social workers will decrease their stress and be able to cope during stressful situations (McGarrigle & Walsh, 2011). Negligence of self-care can lead to one’s decrease in emotions and output. Self-care is important for social workers to reduce the risk of stress and burnout. This information is also key for students who work full-time, attend school, and have a busy home life.
In a study conducted by Williams, et al. (2010), four therapists tried different self-care methods over a span of one to two weeks. The self-care practices were mindfulness meditation, autohypnosis, music, and spirituality. Each therapist wrote about their experience with these activities in their daily lives and their interactions with clients. They each felt that they needed to prevent burnout and that they needed to balance their lives in order to do so. The therapists believed they could implement their self-care techniques in practice as …show more content…
She has an extremely high caseload at work and will often focus on social media as an outlet to distract herself from job related duties or when she is bored. The client is also enrolled in the Masters of Social Work Advanced Standing Program at Bridgewater State University in her first year. The client stated she will go onto social media, such as Facebook, to communicate with other students or friends. In addition, she does a lot of online shopping. Also, on top of her job and school responsibilities, the client is a mother to a young child who is involved in after-school activities. The client feels as if she does not spend much time with her daughter and/or husband since the client began school. The client stated that social media is a way to escape herself from her hectic life.
Baseline Behavior The chart in Appendix A measures the client’s time spent on social media during the baseline measure throughout a seven-day span. During the baseline, the client was spending a high amount of time on social media. She stated that she would look at social media websites mostly at night when she could not fall asleep. The client reported that she would stay awake longer than expected if she looked on social media websites during the night. Since the client spent a lot of time on social media during her baseline measure,