Abstract
Purpose Increased and unrelenting anti-Black violence during the Covid-19 global pandemic changed the relationship between advocacy, activism, and self-care for practicing social workers further exacerbating existing issues and exposing contradictions within the field of social work.
Methodology Using constructivist grounded theory, the data was analyzed using a thematic analysis to explore the relationship between social workers who self-identify as advocates and/or activists and self-care. This U.S.-based interview study with 45 social workers provided in-depth knowledge of stated aims for the field of social work and the realities.
Findings This research confirmed that social workers involved in advocacy and activism should not be excluded from practicing self-care. Since Covid-19, increased anti-Black violence, racial injustice, and civil unrest in the U.S. and globally, interviewees indicated their self-care methods and their thoughts/tools around advocacy and activism have changed since before the pandemic began. As such, it is irresponsible for the field of social work to encourage self-care in theory only. Increased and unrelenting anti-Black violence during the Covid-19 global pandemic changed the relationship between advocacy, activism, and self-care for practicing social workers further exacerbating existing issues and exposing contradictions within the field of social work.
Applications The onus is on the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) to include self-care as both a core value and a formal ethical principle within the NASW Code of Ethics. Moreover, the duty is also on the Council of Social Work Education (CSWE) to update curricula at U.S. social work schools across the country embedding self-care into the work that student social workers are already doing.
Purpose The Covid-19 pandemic illuminated anti-Black violence, reshaping the dynamics of advocacy, activism, and self-care for social workers and revealing contradictions within the field.
Methodology Employing constructivist grounded theory, this U.S.-based interview study with 45 participants explores the relationship between self-identified advocate/activist social workers and self-care, providing insights into social work’s aims and social work’s realities.
Findings The study affirms that advocates and activists in social work should not be excluded from self-care practices. Amidst Covid-19, participants reported shifts in self-care methods and views on advocacy and activism. Theoretical endorsement of self-care alone by the social work field is deemed insufficient.
Applications The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) recently added self-care to the NASW Code of Ethics connected to core value of integrity and the ethical principle that social workers ought to behave in a trustworthy manner in the NASW Code of Ethics. While this is a good start, it doesn’t go far enough. Moreover, the Council of Social Work Education (CSWE) is also called upon to infuse self-care into U.S. social work curricula, aligning with students' existing work.
Keywords: social work, advocacy, activism, self-care, Covid-19, anti-Black violence
Introduction
"How does the confluence of Covid-19, heightened anti-Black violence, and global racial injustice impact self-care practices among social worker activists and advocates?" Advocates and activists often experience burnout and disempowerment and this fact has only been exacerbated by Covid-19, increased and continued anti-Black violence, and racial injustice and civil unrest in the U.S. and globally (Jenerette, 2023; Junker, 2020; Kim et al., 2024; Melaku, 2021; Njoku & Evans, 2022; Stringer, 2023). Historically, social workers have not had a self-care practice despite their relationship with advocacy and activism (e.g., macro social work) (Netting, Thomas, & Ivery, 2021).
Due to the nature of social workers’ work in the advocacy and activism space, the threat of burnout or compassion fatigue is increased (Figley, 1995, 1; Johnson & Stoner, 2021; Mack, 2022). The latter is described as a set of physical and psychological symptoms appearing in social workers who are exposed to client suffering that occurs because of traumatizing events. Thus, just by hearing the trauma, the social worker is often impacted (Foreman, 2018, 142). Foreman’s 2018 study examining the relationship between vicarious traumatization and wellness advances the following, “Wellness is imperative to mitigate vicarious traumatization” (Foreman, 2018, 152). Social workers encourage clients and patients to practice self-care, and they are also encouraged to do that during their social work programs. Yet nonprofits, agencies, hospitals, and other social work employers often do not encourage self-care practices, especially during working hours and for marginalized identities (Walton, 2023). Not allowing social workers to practice self-care during the day can lead to unintended consequences such as a loop of burnout, depression, anxiety, leaving the field, and more (Johnson & Stoner, 2021).
Most social work students learn about the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) Code of Ethics during their social work education (NASW Code of Ethics, n.d.). One of the Code of Ethics core values is social justice. As such, it is no surprise that many social workers were drawn to the field because they consider themselves advocates and activists (Besthorn, 2003; Ezell, 1994; Hoefer, Felderhoff, & Watson, 2019; Jansson & Dodd, 2008; Jeyapal, 2016). For this reason, this research focuses on the lived experiences of self-identified social work advocates and activists. It also illustrates the fact that advocacy and activism may look different to the practitioner.
Literature Review
Social Work, Advocacy, and Activism
Social work has a complicated history with activism and advocacy in the U.S. and abroad. And activists and advocates have been written about in many contexts, including labor rights (Rose, 1990), and the burnout they experience has been studied by several scholars, whether the topic is women’s rights (Bernal et al., 2008), and social justice education (Gorski, 2015).
Advocates and activists often experience burnout and disempowerment which is why the relationship between social work advocacy / activism and self-care is explored in this article alongside Covid-19, increased anti-Black violence, and racial injustice and civil unrest in the U.S. and globally.
It is for this reason that social workers frequently discuss with their clients and patients is the importance of practicing self-care.
Social Work and Self-Care
Burnout is real and oftentimes the antidote to burnout is self-care. Carroll et al. (1999) compared self-care to an ethical principle and a moral imperative. They posit that self-care has two major aims. First, reducing burnout in therapists or social workers who provide therapy can have negative personal, professional, and emotional effects. Second, modeling boundaries and self-care for clients is a good way to encourage and promote well-being for both parties (Carroll et al., 1999, 135-136).
Through their work with clients, patients, and the community, social workers encounter vicarious or secondary trauma, and/or compassion fatigue thus necessitating the need for self-care. Direct practitioners who work with survivors of trauma are at risk of developing secondary trauma (Hatcher et al., 2011).
There is a disconnect between what social workers were taught about self-care during social work school and what their agency, private practice, hospital, and/or the academe encourages. Willis and Molina (2019) argue that the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) should add professional self-care to the professional code of ethics to mitigate burnout, secondary traumatic stress, vicarious trauma, or compassion fatigue: “NASW can and should be the leader among helping professions to add professional self-care into a professional code of ethics. As social workers, our responsibility to our own wellness is as important— if not more—as our responsibilities to our clients and colleagues. It is imperative to add self-care into our NASW Code of Ethics to help us maintain wellness, not just begin to engage in it after experiencing impairment” (Willis & Molina, 2019, 84). Adding self-care to the NASW Code of Ethics will hopefully result in a greater commitment to practicing what we preach.
Social Work For Current Times
For many, 2020 was a year that illuminated and exacerbated existing chasms in competing pandemics – the Covid-19 global pandemic and anti-Black violence – which exposed health disparities and anti-Black racism both in social work and in the U.S. streets (Balz, 2020; Brown, 2021; Gregory & Clary, 2021; Strauss, 2020; Weinberg & Fine, 2020).
Social workers were under significant
Methods
Research Design
This interview study employed grounded theory methods to investigate the relationship between social workers who self-described themselves as advocates and activists and their self-care practice (Charmaz, 2006; Glaser & Strauss, 1967).
Procedures
The University of Massachusetts, Boston’s Institutional Review Board (IRB) approved this research. Once IRB approval was secured, the pilot study participants were contacted by the PI to participate in this replication study.
Table 1. Participant Demographic Data
Data Collection
This research is based on an empirical analysis of the qualitative data that came from the interviews conducted over the course of a six-week period from October 5, 2019 to November 15, 2019 for the pilot study and a six-week period from January 27, 2021 to March 8, 2021 for the replication study.
In this interview study, 45 of the 60 participants (both social workers and student social workers) from the pilot study were re-interviewed via video call on the Zoom platform. In the pilot study two types of non-random sampling were used: convenience sampling and quota sampling. Participants were selected due to their availability and as members of the social work community in the U.S. Quota sampling was used to select the participants from different demographics. Equity within research is important, thus social worker or student social workers from marginalized and/or disenfranchised populations were prioritized in this study especially in light of the significant research that has historically excluded diverse and marginalized voices. In the replication study, the PI reached out to each of the 60 social worker and student social workers to invite them to participate, the PI was able to schedule and speak with 45 participants from the pilot study.
In the pilot study, of the 60 social worker or student social worker participants, 42% self-identified as Black, 27% as white, 13% as Latinx, 8% as Asian/Asian Pacific Islander/Desi American (APIDA)/Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI), and 10% as mixed race/biracial/multiracial. Sixty-five percent of the participants self-identified as women, 23% as men, and 12% as non-gender binary or non-gender confirming. Finally, 55% were student social workers and the remaining 45% were social workers. For the replication study, of the 45 social worker, student social workers, or community organizers – two left the field of social work – 38% self-identified as Black, 29% white, 13% Latinx, 9% Asian/APIDA/AAPI, and 11% as mixed race/biracial/multiracial. Sixty-seven percent identified as women, 24% men, 9% non-gender binary or non-gender conforming.
This breadth of interviews allowed for equitable qualitative research in addition to rich, vibrant, and enlightening conversations. Social work encompasses advocacy and activism in a myriad of ways and in theory encourages self-care, yet in practice that is often not the case.
Interview Guide
Interview participants were asked three questions:
· Have your thoughts/tools around advocacy and activism changed in light of Covid-19, increased anti-Black violence, as well as racial injustice and civil unrest in the U.S. and globally?
· Have your methods for self-care changed because of the current national and global climate?
· Any important last thoughts?
Data Analysis
Differences between responses were noted and closely examined (Charmaz, 2012). During the second round of coding, interview responses were categorized by theme (some longer, multifaceted responses were assigned to more than one theme category) (Strauss & Corbin, 1990, 1998). Round three involved checking categories and assigning themes (Charmaz, 2006, 2014; Charmaz & Thornberg, 2020; Walton, 2022). Similar to Walton (2022), PI explored patterns from constantly comparing the data, thus increasing the theoretical reach of the data analysis (Charmaz, 2012; Walton, 2022).
Ensuring Rigor and Trustworthiness
To ensure design and interpretive rigor I used my findings to make inferences as well as adequately incorporate inferences from the qualitative data collected (McGregor, 2018; Teddlie & Tashakkori, 2006).
Results
“I think self-care is so hard in our field. I feel like we talk about it. I’m a little bitter about self-care. Do yoga, grab an app, do some mindfulness. But in real life, we are not provided with healthy working environments, our employers want us to work more and more and more, we do not have the opportunity to practice what we preach or what we were taught in professional school.” {José, a Latino/Hispanic man}
Key categories that emerged and explained the lived experiences of social workers identifying as advocates and activists are reported. The core experiences of advocates and activists who are social workers are (1) that there are different ways to participate in advocacy and activism, (2) that social work as a field recommends that clients and patients practice self-care but their employers do not allow for social workers themselves to practice self-care, and (3) this reality needs to change, and the onus is on the NASW to be the changemaker. Two main categories emerged with participants: (1) their thoughts/tools around advocacy and activism changed in light of Covid-19, increased anti-Black violence, as well as racial injustice and civil unrest in the U.S. and globally and (2) their methods of self-care also changed because of the current national and global climate.
In the following five sections, I systematically discuss the experiences brought up in the previous paragraph about social work and self-care moving from the different ways participants have participated in advocacy and activism, to the acknowledgement that the field of social work often doesn’t allow social workers to practice self-care, and how the NASW ought to be the changemaker.
The social workers who participated in this important study have not only participated as advocates or activists, they are also doing what they can to continue to be good social workers which means they practice self-care. Now it’s time for the NASW to support their efforts by updating the Code of Ethics which will be discussed further in this article.
Different Ways to Participate in Advocacy and Activism
The core experience of participants is that there are different ways to participate in advocacy and activism. Keith, a white man, started to participate in advocacy and activism differently during the pandemic,
I decided to start donating to different funds in a way that I had never done before. I think that was one of the biggest things that happened during the pandemic. I realized how strong the work was being done by people already in existence.
Previously, when Keith was a student social worker, he indicated that one way he chose to come alongside a marginalized group was to do so with specific directions from the group itself. About a third (30%) of respondents also echoed this sentiment. It was encouraging to hear people who have several privileged social identities realize that what would be most useful would be to listen to the specific needs of the marginalized group and do precisely what that group is requesting.
Self-Reflection. Over half of participants (62%) indicated that being self-reflective about their role in community as an advocate or activist was an important factor to acknowledge with respect to how their power comes to bear. Their power was accompanied by their privileged identities and their positionality with respect to the platform which is afforded to them. Reflexivity, which I define as a social worker’s ability to critically reflect on their power, positionality, and privilege and how the power they hold, comes to bear in the relationships they have with clients and patients, as well as other advocates and activists (D’Cruz et al., 2019).
Sense of Urgency to Act. A majority (62%) of participants reported they had increased awareness and needed to act in terms of responsibility and ability, meaning they felt a sense of responsibility because they had the ability to act as an advocate or activist.
Recently, Sebastian, a Latino/Hispanic man, had this to say about how he’s changed since we last spoke during the pilot study,
My thoughts about my responsibility of being an activist hasn’t changed, my thoughts of how to do it have changed, Covid, glaring police violence has pushed everyone forward. They’re now just aware of this. For me, it has pushed my agency and role further, the role of social work, carceral work, and policing in prisons. A year ago, I wouldn’t have identified myself as an abolitionist. My work in the child welfare system is to abolish that system.
This sentiment was echoed by Genevieve, a Black woman, who is now a social worker and is looking at her role as an advocate more closely, “I think I’ve become more aware of my role within advocacy and as an advocate and being more intentional about what information I take in and the resources I use.” These quotes demonstrate that social workers are beginning to realize just how much advocacy they practice in their everyday lives. It’s not that this work is new for them per se, but rather they are now realizing their power as advocates and activists. Moreover, Raquel, a white woman, also is more aware of her role in advocacy and activism,
as a white person I’ve been focusing my efforts with addressing this with other white people and the area where I live there are plenty. I also work in the public school system and it’s time to be respectfully loud. There’s so much white fragility.
Covid-19 and Anti-Black violence. Over half of interviewees (58%) said that Covid-19 has illuminated anti-Black violence. Some wondered if it was because people were forced to remain home as a result of nationwide shelter-in-place or stay home orders or if their awareness was just building; for example, respondents noticed increased anti-Black violence including, but not limited to, George Floyd’s murder in May 2020 (New York Times, 2021). Jamal, a Black man and a recent social work graduate, raises a valid concern about anti-Blackness while practicing self-reflection,
I do think, maybe paradoxically, there is a weird tension, I am frustrated with the way things are, but I continue to return to empathy with why people are the way they are in terms of being anti-Black and engaging in white supremacy. How do you have accountability with compassion?
The question that Jamal poses is an excellent one that social workers can pose to the field and for the NASW as a model: How do social workers hold the NASW and the field of social work accountable with compassion in their demand for self-care?
Social Work Often Doesn’t Allow Social Workers to Practice Self-Care
José, a Latino/Hispanic man, whose quote was shared at the beginning of this article shared similar concerns,
I think self-care is so hard in our field. I feel like we talk about it. I’m a little bitter about self-care. Do yoga, grab an app, do some mindfulness. But in real life, we are not provided with healthy working environments, our employers want us to work more and more and more, we do not have the opportunity to practice what we preach or what we were taught in professional school.
Not only is it hard for social workers, it is also hard for those around them, whether loved ones, clients or patients, or acquaintances. More recently José expressed concern about the disparities within Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) communities that have been exacerbated by Covid-19 (Fisher and Bubola, 2020). He was especially concerned about the students he works with and their families’ ability to access basic needs. This is a perfect storm for burnout or compassion fatigue. Jackson (2014) notes, “When social workers experience burnout or compassion fatigue, their clients suffer as well. It’s axiomatic that if social workers don’t care for themselves, their ability to care for others will be diminished or even depleted” (Jackson, 2014, xx). Therefore, to be good social workers, social workers need to care for themselves by practicing self-care in a manner that makes sense to them.
Advocates and activists have a tendency, not unlike other helping professions, to ‘always be on’ or to always be thinking about problems that exist. Problems related to injustice – racism, classism, discrimination based on disability status or gender, hatred towards members of the LGBTQ+ community, ableism, and the compounding effect of oppressions due to the layering of social identities, also known as intersectionality. All this leads social workers and student social workers alike to find difficulty in directing their attention and energy to other enjoyable topics or even giving themselves a break. Self-care for people who are “always on” takes work and encouragement. Some may feel comfortable encouraging their clients or patients to practice self-care and may not feel comfortable following their advice. Moreover, their employers may take advantage of this unfortunate circumstance further exploiting their employees.
Self-Care Is Critical. Less than a quarter of respondents (20%) agreed that self-care is important and that not doing it is a disservice to the field of social work and social workers themselves. Many agreed that it is easy to forego self-care and that the consequences of that can be problematic at best and dire at worst. Jacqueline, a Black woman, added,
Sometimes the hardest workers are the usually the people who are one email away from crashing and burning. I worry about some of us who are putting our bodies, brains on the line doing social justice work. Sometimes I worry about how we don’t self-care enough or are empty. [Personally,] if I’m taking a piece of pie out, let’s go with sweet potato pie, if I take something on, I usually take something out. I do worry about those on the frontline, whatever that means, if they are able to set boundaries and that they don’t think about trying to help themselves while they are helping others.
What Jacqueline means is that if she takes on an obligation or commitment, she needs to release one so that she remains as balanced as she can be. If she starts a book club with other concerned parents, for example, she may not be able to attend the weekly yoga or cooking class she’s been going to; Jacqueline only has so much sweet potato pie to go around.
NASW Be the Changemaker
The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) needs to include self-care as a formal ethical principle within the Code of Ethics. Currently the Code of Ethics includes six (6) ethical principles that are connected to values and self-care is not one of the ethical principles included on this list (NASW Code of Ethics, n.d.). It’s hypocritical for social workers to encourage their clients and patients to practice self-care without being given the space and opportunity to do the same. And the data supports that this is not good for the social worker or the community (loved ones, clients, patients, colleagues, and others) in which they are apart (Jackson, 2014; Lewis & King, 2019).
Changed Thoughts/Tools Around Advocacy and Activism.
When asked if their thoughts/tools around advocacy and activism have changed in light of Covid-19, increased anti-Black violence, as well as racial injustice and civil unrest in the U.S. and globally, almost three-quarters (71%) of interview participants said yes, while 29% said no. Less than a third (31%) indicated that intentional learning both for the respondent and others is an important feature of advocacy and activism. Less than one-fifth said they are more radical, cynical, pessimistic, or infuriated (13%), more likely to speak up now (13%), and that advocacy and activism is present in all aspects of their lives (11%).
Juan, a Latino/Hispanic educator who identifies as nonbinary, responded to the question,
Yes, I think more than anything I became much more aware and use my platform to say what I think and engage people, not only informally in groups across the country, but in my classroom as well.
Juan is part of the majority insofar as their thoughts/tools around advocacy and activism did change as a result of Covid-19, increased anti-Black violence, as well as racial injustice and civil unrest in the U.S. and globally. Juan also used their art as a platform for social justice. Another respondent, Lauralee, described her platform as one which illuminates the health disparities which Covid-19 exacerbated,
In light of Covid-19, it has led to all virtual advocacy and activism, which has had its challenges, strengths, since Covid-19 and civil unrest this summer. It has led to a great platform. One thing that has increased people’s interest has been seeing the health disparities amongst race and socioeconomic [conditions].
The online platform has widened the opportunity for people to learn and grow. The global pandemic has also given respondents the opportunity to learn and grow and open their mouths to say the things that need to be said. Veronique, a Latina/Hispanic woman, reflected that the thoughts and tools to address disparities, anti-Black violence, and other forms of inequality or inequity have “become clearer and more public. I am much more likely to talk about [these issues] up front as opposed to meandering.” For Veronique, this newfound openness has “been a big shift.”
But all this openness, all this confrontation with disparities, anti-Black violence, and other forms of inequality or inequity (especially against minoritized and marginalized groups) has illuminated the need for social workers to engage in self-care, especially those on the margins due to race/ethnicity, sexuality, gender, ability status, and more. Given how fleeting self-care is for people like those who have been quoted, the following section considers some methods for self-care that might be made available to them.
Methods for Self-Care
When asked if their methods for self-care have changed because of the current national and global climate 73% said yes, while 27% said no. Slightly more than a third (36%) said they have become even more intentional about their physical health. One-third (33%) indicated that a means of self-care for them has been to solicit intentional support and engaging with their community (family and friends). Nearly one-third stated that spending time outdoors was a way that they practiced self-care. The next most common – just under one-fourth – was taking walks (24%), movement (dancing or running, for example) (22%), cooking and eating well (22%), meditation, yoga, or some other spiritual practice (22%). Less commonly heard from respondents was getting or limiting social media (18%), being more conscious about rest, sleep, or breaks (16%), turning off or limiting news consumption (13%), and being intentional about self-care broadly (11%).
Jamila, a Native mixed race woman, said the following about her self-care practice,
So, I think my methods for self-care have changed because I don’t have to wake up and go to work, I don’t have to commute, I get to work from home. I’ve been doing more meditating, I get to prepare more meals, because I’m not on the fly as much. I’m connecting more virtually and I’m connecting with my support system more than I had before. There are ways that the whole environment during the last year [2020-2021] with the guy in the White House and Covid which have propelled me into more self-care.
The pandemic was a significant reason which caused people to shift their attitudes about their self-care practice. For example, Callie, a white woman, said the following,
I’ve had to give myself more permission to leave things unfinished, extending grace, because of the ongoing emotional fatigue and the work I’m doing with my clients, and I see them holding themselves to a pre-pandemic standard and this has just continued to increase feelings of anxiety, stress, and mood disruption.
Rohan, a Native mixed race man, experienced anger when he was not practicing self-care which is what he shared during the pilot study, “I do notice when my self-care slips, I notice my anger is not productive or it’s directed towards the wrong people. Anger can be a part of advocacy and activism.” When I spoke with Rohan again, he had left the field of social work and identified more as community organizer. He had this to say,
Reflecting on leaving social work… Social workers are the best people I know, and yet I feel I was working in a way that wasn’t working and I might have to make amends for that. Becoming more radicalized and working in a liberatory group, not turning the other cheek was one of the reasons I had to leave…
Rohan realized that he had had expectations placed on him by others and by himself where he was being asked to forgive wrongs done to him independent of how he felt about them. For Rohan, one major and public act of self-care was to leave the field, no long encumbered with the expectations of himself or others.
Nationwide shelter-in-place or stay home orders didn’t just shine a light on anti-Black violence, it also blurred the lines between work and play. For Kaya, a white woman, part of self-care is clearly delineating work and play,
…we have to figure out a way to integrate what we do in our professional lives and our personal lives. Balance is not the right word. I don’t think that’s possible. Working from home means that I feel like I’m always working and always at home. Creating a passthrough. Having periods of time when I totally turn off work and do something completely different than work and otherwise, I am completely overwhelmed.
Many expressed a feeling of overwhelm and that extending grace to themselves as well as being flexible has mitigated those feelings. Amara, a mixed race woman said this,
I think one thing, and I don’t know if I would consider self-care, it’s my ability to be more flexible. I don’t like crediting coronavirus for anything because it’s been so awful and yet now, I’m able to say today I have this plan and tomorrow who knows. And also, not feeling like I needed to apologize for my needs.
Social workers should not be apologetic that they’re not only human, that they also have needs. And healing is another topic that came up during the pilot study as well as the replication study. Jocelyn, a Black woman, raised the issue about self-care, “Our movements are only as strong as our relationships and our healing.” Over a quarter (27%) of participants indicated that their methods for self-care had not changed and Jocelyn indicated that her self-care methods had not changed,
Largely no, because for me, self-care is a practice, so this is something, regardless of circumstance, that I’m always tending to. I pay attention to the places that I receive pleasure – food, conversations I’m engaged on, how I create and curate my space – and this was pre-Covid and pre-civil unrest. My self-care tools are reliable.
Respondents’ Last Thoughts
Social workers and student social workers were asked to provide important last thoughts at the conclusion of their interviews. These last thoughts speak to the diligence and commitment that respondents had towards the topic of their advocacy and activism and its collision with self-care. Jamal, referred to earlier, indicated that empathy was an important ingredient in this work. On a connected note, to empathy, compassion, and understanding as well as collective trauma and collective healing, one participant, Callie, a longtime social worker, encouraged others, “We need to unpack our trauma.” And we need rest which was echoed by Maya, a Black woman,
I’m thinking a lot, so much about rest, part of our activism is taking time for rest. That shows up in my life about how I want to take more time to rest and that I hope other people are taking time for rest too.
Practicing empathy, compassion, and understanding, healing collective trauma, and taking the rest we need are all things that a social worker would tell a client or patient to do and yet these same social workers are often not given the space to do these same things.
Discussion
One respondent, Jasmine, a Black student social worker during the pilot study, lamented,
There’s no space really built for self-care in our profession. Self-care and activism are buzzwords. We need to re-charge. A battery with no charge doesn’t work. We put in a lot of labor and re-traumatize ourselves. We don’t know how to really use self-care and activism; we use it in a very surface way. And that bothers me. We say we do self-care, but at the same time we still feel tired, we still feel traumatized, and we have a lot of issues. We’re doing things for social media, and it is very surface. If we don’t change things, we are going to start losing our people.
This is a great reminder that this work can often be traumatizing so “tapping out” may be the most kind, ethical, intentional, strategic, and thoughtful thing that social workers can do which honors themselves and their community. A reminder that Genevieve, a Black woman student social worker during the pilot study, shared,
Community organizers, advocates, activists are pulled in all different directions, it is not possible to be all things to all people. Be a good advocate for yourself.
Sometimes this is easier said than done if the spaces in which social workers are practicing are still not intentionally set up to ‘walk the walk and talk the talk.’
The framework used in this interview study is grounded theory which informed the lived experiences of social workers and student social workers over the course of two years with respect to their advocacy and activism and how they were able to practice self-care with Covid-19 and increased and ever-present anti-Black violence present. There is a wealth of information that came from both interview studies. An empirical analysis was done making use of this primary data.
Participants in this study shared how the field of social work ‘says one thing and does another.’ There is an explicit expectation that social workers will encourage their clients and patients to practice self-care and then are not given the opportunity to practice self-care. This theme prevailed independent of region of the country, race/ethnicity, and gender.
Strategies that participants used for advocacy and activism included self-reflection on their roles in the community, increased awareness and a need to act, and understanding that Covid-19 provided a new lens with which they could see and bear witness to increased anti-Black violence (Benjamin, 2022; Cohan, 2019). Related, top strategies for self-care included intentionality around physical health, community building and support, mental health, radical self-care, and spending time moving one’s body (Hersh, 2022). Boundaries were also something that was mentioned in many forms – turning off notifications, disconnecting from work, limiting news and TV, enjoying solitude, and clarifying where work ends and life begins.
The next section provides a summary of results, implications for social work, conclusion, and recommendations.
Summary of Results
Most respondents in the replication study indicated that their thoughts/tools around advocacy and activism have changed in light of Covid-19, increased anti-Black violence, as well as racial injustice, and civil unrest in the U.S. and globally (71%) and that their methods for self-care changed because of the current national and global climate (73%). Over half of replication study participants have been self-reflective of their roles in community (62%), have increased awareness and feel a need to act in terms of responsibility and ability (62%), and reported that Covid-19 has illuminated issues like anti-Black violence (58%). When asked about self-care, about one-third of replication respondents have been intentional about physical health (36%), asking for intentional support from their communities (33%), and that spending time outdoors was important and prioritized (27%). Two ideas that were raised most frequently, when asked to share important last thoughts was that activism is active and should be part of every conversation, not just saved for weekend protests (8%) and that activism and advocacy is a learning process for respondents and others (8%).
During the pilot study, over half (55%) of respondents agreed that participating in a meaningful way and being of service is a way that they engage in advocacy and activism. Slightly less than half (38%) of interview respondents indicated that recognizing and using privilege appropriately was a means for them to engage in advocacy and activism. Movement, or the moving of one’s body through walking, running, yoga, exercise, going to the gym, tai chi, and more, was the way that over half (57%) of respondents preferred to practice self-care while spending time with loved ones (family or friends) (42%) was the second most preferred way for respondents to practice self-care. Social workers and student social workers were asked to provide important last thoughts at the conclusion of their interviews, they brought up being good advocates for themselves (20%) and that self-care is important and not practicing it is not only a disservice to their individual lives, it is to the field of social work (20%).
Implications for Social Work
It is irresponsible for the field to encourage self-care in theory only. To that end, advocacy and activism work is not necessarily practiced at the exclusion of social work.
Conclusion
In both interview studies, the relationship between advocacy and activism and self-care was explored within the field of social work. It was shown that while advocacy and activism are considered an inherent part of the field of social work by some, it is not always seen that way by others. There’s a disconnect between what social work as a discipline teaches and what it practices regarding self-care which can be problematic for not only social workers, but their clients or patients. Moreover, there is awareness about burnout, compassion fatigue, secondary or vicarious trauma in addition to a desire to bridge the gap between the work of advocacy and activism and self-care and social work especially considering Covid-19, anti-Black violence, racial injustice, and civil unrest.
The onus is on the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) to include self-care as a formal ethical principle within the Code of Ethics. Formalizing self-care could be a way to shift the narrative that social workers need to continue to work through incredibly long days, hearing the stories of traumatized clients or patients, case management, and pre-authorizations without the support or strength of a self-care practice. Moreover, the duty is also on the Council of Social Work Education (CSWE) to update curricula at social work schools across the country, and globally, would bolster the infusion of self-care into the work that student social workers are already doing. Creativity in implementation is key.
This article aspires social workers to give themselves permission to engage in self-care practices that will serve them as well as their communities, to facilitate structural change within social work organizations including academia, to motivate policy changes so that social workers are able to prioritize self-care so that they work in healthier environments that are in greater alignment with social work’s core values, and finally to advocate that the NASW adds self-care as a core value to the Code of Ethics.
Practicing social work without self-care is not sustainable and is not only harmful for practitioners, but for their clients and patients as well. The effects can be far reaching. Carroll et al. (1999) likened self-care to an ethical principle and a moral imperative (Carroll et al., 1999, 134).
Ahmed[1], a Black man interviewed during the pilot study, recently reflected on that study:
so much has changed since we did the first [pilot study] interview, since the pandemic, which means we have to change how we approach self-care and for me that means holding myself accountable to do it…and because the appetite for racial justice has changed and increased, white people are more interested, and a lot of advocates and activists want to do it now, which makes sense and yet, we have to be careful because of the risk of burnout is high with that mentality.
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[1] All names are pseudonyms in order to protect the identities of interviewees who have kindly and generously participated in this research.