Abstract
Mindfulness and self-care are fundamental for the long-term success of social work practitioners. Our intention of promoting self-care and mindfulness practices aligns with the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) and the Council for Social Work Education (CSWE) accreditation competencies. The Code of Ethics standards address social worker self-care in that it is expected that social work professionals recognize and use emotional self-regulation to manage personal values and maintain professionalism in practice as a necessary facet of ethical practice. The following study aimed to address the questions of: How can the Master’s of Social Work (MSW) program at CSUS better prepare students for the stress and emotional challenges that can lead to burnout during the program and after graduation? And, how can the MSW program at CSUS enhance its mindfulness and self-care training for its students to decrease burnout? A qualitative approach was utilized to gain insight into students’ experiences and needs while in the CSUS MSW program. Focus groups were the method of data collection, and the results revealed five major themes: (a) utilization of self-care; (b) sources of stress; (c) definition and practice of mindfulness; (d) ideas for enhancing current curriculum; (e) program support to fuel personal and professional growth. Results from this study have the potential to inform further research as well as influence curriculum and program development for CSUS and other MSW programs.