Speak Out OCTOBER 2021 DIGITAL EDITION

FEATURE

LEANING INTO PERSON AND FAMILY-CENTERED PRACTICE APPROACHES IS VITAL AT THIS TIME.

Large scale global stressors impact on us all, including those that have occurred over the last two years in particular. From the Australian bush fires at the end of 2019, to the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent restrictions, challenges have arisen within many aspects of life. These include moving our practices to telehealth and balancing home schooling and working remotely. Many facets of our daily lives have changed and with this comes stress. This stress can impact us personally and professionally, even when we don’t intend for this to happen. We have a professional and ethical obligation to the people we work alongside and the people we serve to ensure that we are in tune with our emotions and are making choices that support our wellbeing and promote our mental health. For many of us one of the first signs of stress can be feeling less tolerant of the stress of others. As we all continue to navigate our way through this challenging time it is important to keep at the forefront of minds our approach and communication when working with our clients, particularly when working with parents and caregivers. Many families are under extreme pressure right now, be that financial, emotional and/or practical. They are being asked to juggle multiple roles as well as provide additional support without the usual outlets for play and rest. Many parents and carers will be feeling a range of different emotions including guilt, helplessness, worry, frustration, anger, fatigue and stress. As a result, it is important we consider the ethical principle of non-maleficence (not knowingly causing harm) by adapting our expectations of what families and carers can achieve outside of therapy sessions and considering carefully any additional load we ask of them during this difficult time. Leaning into person and family-centered practice approaches is vital at this time. Everyone comes to therapy with different priorities, different values, different needs with different limitations and capacities around what they can and can’t do. Having honest and compassionate discussions with families and carers about their current priorities and current capacity can help them to feel Prioritising wellbeing during times of stress

supported within the therapy approach and help to reduce the pressure on them to do more. Active listening and professional communication are important tools to use, as well as keeping in mind the value of kindness in our 2020 Code of Ethics. Consider exploring alternative ways to give information to your families and carers to help them process new information in times of stress. Perhaps that looks like writing more information down or presenting information visually. Both of which can help parents and carers to process information later on rather than having to recall what was verbally discussed in session. It is also important to consider the value of kindness for yourself during times of stress. This can include being aware of your early signs of stress and having a plan on how to be proactive to ensure that you can maintain your wellbeing during times of stress. For more information on professional communication in the workplace watch the Ethics Collaborative, Professional Communication: Developing a safe space and Why is my mental health an ethical issue? Nadia Marussinszky

Ethics Advisor Kelly Williams Ethics Advisor

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Speak Out | October 2021