We deserve that care and attention we are trying to nurture within other people: exploring the experiences of co-active life coaches on self-care and professional practice during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Self-care is broadly defined as a chosen, proactive initiated practice, with the goal of promoting well-being. Self-care provides many social, emotional, and psychological benefits, and it is important to understand its role among those who are responsible for helping others. Helping professionals such psychologists, social workers, and nurses are tasked with promoting self-care and nurturing individual growth amongst their patients and clients. Working in these industries can lead to excess stress, burnout, and professional impairment, all of which can negatively impact clinical work and personal health. Ironically, these helpers’ personal self-care is not always an immediate priority. In light of these challenges, it would seem that enhanced self-care may provide an avenue to reduce negative outcomes seen in the personal and professional lives of helpers. Beyond exploring self-care and health among helping professionals, it is also important to understand how self-care relates to professional practice during COVID-19, an era fraught with government restrictions mandating lockdowns and the use of telecommunications. Certified Professional Co-Active life coaches (CPCC), helping professionals who provide highly personalized support endorsing self-care for their clients and are trained in using virtual tools, have yet to be examined in this context and are poised to provide unique insights. [...]