9th Annual Conference

Integrative Health and Medicine practitioners delivering care to the underserved experience high levels of stress that may lead to burnout, depression, substance abuse, and suboptimal patient care. Due to these very real pressures it may feel impossible and/or inappropriate to take time for self-care. In this session we look at different ways of thinking about self-care: self-care is for everyone, not just the privileged. We describe the ways in which self-care is important to patient care (for example, providers are role models for patients, how you are behaving impacts how they will behave) and how self-care can enhance interprofessional collaboration, which can increase provider satisfaction as well as patient outcomes. After determining the need for self-care, we make the connection between self-care and social activism, social justice and equity. Rather than being frivolous or indulgent, the need for self-care is absolutely essential, for our own well-being, as well as for those we care for and about. Participants will have the opportunity to experience several self-care practices. Options will be provided for making practices into "1-minute" activities that can fit into busy lives. Participants will write prescriptions for their own self-care. In addition to leaving the session with their own prescription, resources will be shared to help practitioners who want to give culturally sensitive self-care "prescriptions" to their patients. Our aim is to legitimize self-care: it is our responsibility to take care of ourselves and this in turn will help us be of greater service to others.

I am author of two books about Self-Care Practices and am Director of Working Groups at Academic Collaborative for Integrative Health. My co-presenter is Associate Director of Community Engagement at Academy of Integrative Health & Medicine. We have presented at integrative health related conferences, including IM4US, International Congress for Integrative Medicine & Health, , and the American Public Health Association.

self-care, patient care, interprofessional collaboration, social activism, social justice, strategies, challenges,
experiential, Practices, "1-minute" activities, appreciation, meditation, tapping, taking a break, hydrating, intention, physical movement

Skill-based training or Experiential workshop: provide an opportunity to acquire and practice a new skill and to observe and refine teaching techniques for this skill

This session is appropriate for all audiences and skill levels