2019/01/02 by Austin Griffiths, David Royse, April Murphy +1 · 1 citation
Health Professions · Social Sciences · #Family and Patient Care in Intensive Care Units #Mental Health and Patient Involvement #Social Work Education and Practice
paper · doi:10.1080/10437797.2018.1491358
openalex publication_date 2019/01/02 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/29
Social work is a demanding profession as practitioners routinely face difficult situations that affect their well-being. The National Association of Social Workers strongly supports self-care practice as an approved mechanism to offset these challenges, yet practitioners report not learning techniques necessary to perform self-care. In this study, a systematic review compliant with Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses standards was conducted to identify evidence-based interventions used to improve student self-care practice in social work education. In the four studies meeting inclusion criteria, mindfulness practice was the only empirically evaluated self-care strategy reported—and with mixed results. Mindfulness activities enable social workers to sustain their well-being and is critical to modeling and providing effective service delivery to clients. Areas for further research are indicated.