Counsellor self-care: Six New Zealand counsellors talk about their self-care practices.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to better understand how counsellors in Aotearoa New Zealand experience and practise self-care by inviting six counsellors (three novice and three experienced) to talk about their own self-care experiences and practices, and their reflections concerning counsellor self-care. The study used a mixture of quantitative data from a self-care questionnaire and qualitative data from semi-structured interviews. Major findings were grouped in the following three themes: (1) In spite of some common elements, everyone has a unique way of managing self-care; (2) Self-care is not only what counsellors do, but also what is in their minds, and (3) Self-care is a journey. Self-care changes over time because counsellors learn and grow. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of New Zealand Journal of Counselling is the property of New Zealand Association of Counsellors and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)