This study explored the effects of self-care practices and perceptions on positive and negative indicators of professional quality of life, including burnout, secondary traumatic stress, and compassion satisfaction among MSW practitioners. Results reveal that while social workers value and believe self-care is effective in alleviating job-related stress, they engage in self-care on a limited basis. Findings indicate that MSW programs and employers do not teach social workers how to effectively engage in self-care practice. Various domains of self-care practice contribute differently to indicators of professional quality of life. This study sheds light on the under-studied relationship between social worker self-care and professional quality of life, provides insight into the type of activities practiced and not practiced by MSW practitioners, and identifies gaps between perceived value and effective teaching of self-care. Implications exist for social work educators and employers and the potential to support a healthier, sustainable workforce. Keywords: Self-care practice, self-care perceptions, professional quality of lifeSocial workers represent a significant segment of human service professionals in the public and private sectors. There are nearly 600,000 social workers in the United States, and this number is expected to grow by 19 percent by the year 2022, which is faster than the average growth rate of 11 percent for all occupations (U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2013). Social workers practice in a variety of settings including child welfare and family practice, schools, mental health and addictions, and health care (U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2013). Social workers often juggle high volumes of paperwork, complex caseloads, and challenging client situations (Kim & Stoner, 2008). Additionally, social workers routinely engage with individuals, families, and groups who have experienced significant trauma and recent crises; exposure to such clients and the suffering they experience may become emotionally demanding on social workers (Newell & MacNeil, 2010). Compassion fatigue, secondary traumatic stress, and burnout are potential consequences of these emotional demands and can lead to feelings of exhaustion and incompetence, turnover intention, and actual turnover from one's organization (Bride, 2007;Figley, 1995;Killian, 2008;McCann & Pearlman, 1990;McGarrigle & Walsh, 2011;Newell & MacNeil, 2010). Bloomquist et al./SELF-CARE AND PROFESSIONAL QUALITY 293 Self-care and Professional Quality of LifeThe practice of self-care refers to the purposeful actions people and organizations take that contribute to wellness and stress reduction (Alkema, Linton, & Davies, 2008;Barker, 2010;Killian, 2008;Kraus, 2005). Self-care has been heralded in the field of social work as a means to protect against the many stressors of the profession. According to the National Association of Social Workers (NASW, 2008), social workers have an ethical responsibility to address impairment or personal challenges that ...

Until recently, most psychiatric rehabilitation models have been poorly defined and few have had systematic methods for measuring their implementation. We review the historical roots for the development of fidelity measures and describe recent applications in both research and practice.

A state-wide survey of 453 clinicians serving people with severe mental illness in community mental health centers evaluated the degree to which they provide services to families and their perceptions of barriers to developing such services. Most clinicians did not provide many services to families and reported barriers related to the family or client (e.g., family's lack of interest) and their own work environment (e.g., heavy workload). Clinicians who had received prior training on working with families provided more services, had more positive attitudes toward family, and felt more competent about their knowledge, confirming the importance of staff training.

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