ABSTRACT
Being a helping professional can be rewarding and challenging. This chapter offers a practical guide for helpers to recognize burnout and compassion fatigue with suggestions for implementing sustainable self-care that focuses on the body, where trauma is held. Trauma stewardship. Trauma stewardship: An everyday guide to caring for self while caring for others. Berrett-Koehler] is defined as the residual effects that helpers experience when working with those affected by trauma. The Compassionate Movement Wheel for Self-Care offers a three-stage approach to addressing symptoms associated with vicarious trauma. The Wheel inspires awareness and mindful recognition of body sensations and needs, mitigation of vicarious trauma symptoms with breath, rhythm, sensory experiences and connection, and the development of a self-care plan that protects boundaries using creativity, metaphor, play, and self-compassion. Our bodies are valuable tools in recognizing, understanding, and managing our needs for rest and recovery.
