Peale Conference CE Guidelines

Beyond Self-Care:

Holistic Approaches for Preventing Burnout and Promoting Flourishing

among Helping Professionals

Friday, November 1, 2024: 9am-4:30pm

Hybrid Conference sponsored by the Albert & Jessie Danielsen Institute, Boston, MA

Location: Photonics Building, Boston University & Online via Zoom

Abstract:

The helping professions have always been challenging but during and following the pandemic we have seen troubling levels of burnout, vicarious trauma, and diminished well-being among those providing mental health and spiritual care (e.g., mental health professionals, clergy, and chaplains). Self-care is frequently invoked as a solution for these problems. But the “self-care solution” does not address the systemic, relational, and existential dimensions of the profound challenges in this work. This conference will offer a call for a paradigm shift “beyond self-care” to offer holistic understandings and approaches for preventing burnout and promoting flourishing among these helping professionals. A diverse and interdisciplinary team of presenters and panelists will engage recent research findings on these issues and propose constructive strategies through a multi-dimensional framework that is systemic, relational, psychosocial, and existential-spiritual. Attention will be given to both common and unique challenges across mental health, clergy, and chaplain vocational contexts. The morning presentations will outline the contours of our holistic framework based on theory, research, and practice. The first two afternoon sessions will bring relevant research findings on two often-neglected sets of systemic considerations impacting burnout and flourishing among helping professionals (i.e., diversity and justice, couple and family dynamics) into dialogue with a panel of experts. The final main session will illustrate a live group process with helping professionals reflecting on applications from the prior sessions and based on a novel formation-based group intervention program that has shown promising outcomes (Captari et al., 2024). This conference will assist mental health professionals (psychologists, social workers, and others), clergy, and chaplains toward improving their own professional well-being, thereby strengthening their service to the public, as well as informing service to patients or congregants who are caregivers.

Educational objectives:

Identify 3 evidence-based risk factors and 3 protective factors related to burnout among helping professionals.
Explain differences between burnout and holistic models of flourishing as outcomes among helping professionals.
Analyze key connections between diversity and other systemic factors and burnout and well-being among helping professionals.
Describe at least 4 potential strategies for addressing burnout and flourishing among helping professionals based on an evidence-based framework.

Schedule:

9:00-9:40 Steven J. Sandage, PhD, LP – Beyond Self-Care: A New Paradigm on Burnout and Flourishing among Helping Professionals

9:40-10:10 Eric M. Brown, PhD, LPC – We Do This Until We Heal Us: The Resilience and Pain of Black Therapists and Church Leaders

10:10-10:25 Break

10:25-10:55 Laura E. Captari, PhD, LP – A Call for Holistic Formation: The CHRYSALIS Framework as Culturally Responsive Approach to Catalyzing Strengths and Flourishing

11:00 – noon Group dialogue and Q & A: Sandage, Brown, Captari, Priya Amaresh

Noon – 1pm Lunch Break

1:00 – 1:10 Elise Ji Young Choe, PhD, LP – The Kaleidoscope of Flourishing and Burnout: Diversity and Justice Considerations in Supporting Helping Professionals

1:10-1:35 Panel (TBD): Choe; Saliha Kozan, PhD, LP; Rev. Kristen Hydinger, MDiv, MA; David Rupert, PsyD, LP

1:35-1:55 Q & A with Presenters

2:00-2:10 Sarah Crabtree, PhD, LMFT – It All Spills Over: Couple and Family Considerations for Helping Professionals

2:10-2:35 Panel: Crabtree; Jonathan Vanderbeck, MDiv, DSW, LICSW; Sejal Patel, PsyD, LP

2:35 – 2:55 Q & A with Presenters

3:00-3:15 Break

3:15-4:15pm George S. Stavros, PhD, LP – Wisdom, Vulnerability, and Aliveness: Key Group Process Ingredients for Flourishing amongst Helping Professionals

Group includes Brown; Vanderbeck; Amaresh; Judy Gerstenblith, PhD

4:15-4:30pm Steven J. Sandage, PhD, LP – Concluding Reflections

Target Audience:

helping professionals in diverse industries

Mental health professionals in diverse disciplines, including psychologists, counselors, marriage and family therapists, social workers, psychiatrists, psychiatric nurses, etc.
Chaplains and other spiritual care providers
Clergy of diverse traditions and other religious leaders

Instructional Level of Activity:

Introductory

Continuing Education:

For psychologists, 5 CEs are available through the American Psychological Association (APA). The Danielsen Institute is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. The Danielsen Institute maintains responsibility for this program and its content.
For social workers licensed in the state of MA, 5 CEs are available. The Danielsen Institute is approved by the BU School of Social Work. For social workers residing in other states, you can check with your state board to see if this CE approval is accepted.
For marriage and family therapists (MFTs) in the state of MA, we are applying for 5 CEs through NEAFAST. The website will be updated when we have received approval. For MFTs residing in other states, you can check with your state board to see if this CE approval is accepted.

Cost:

free to attend, fee ($50) for CEs

Refund and Cancellation Policy:

Participants may cancel for a full refund of the CE fee up to 24 hours before the conference begins. To cancel, call the Danielsen Institute at 617-353-3047.

Attendance Requirements for Receiving CEs:

Participants must be present for the entirety of the conference to receive CE credit; there will be no credit available for individuals who attend for part of the day. To verify attendance for CE purposes, participants must complete a 30-question quiz and receive a score of at least 75%. No re-takes of the quiz will be allowed. Internet attendance will be monitored via meta-data.

Grievance Policy:

Our grievance policy can be found at https://www.bu.edu/danielsen/5111-2/continuing-education-programming-at-the-danielsen-institute/

For questions, please contact Makena Shaughnessy at makanise@bu.edu.

Instructor credentials:

Presenters will address the empirical basis, cultural and justice considerations, limitations, and risks.

Presenter 1: Steven J. Sandage, Ph.D., LP

Position: Albert & Jessie Danielsen Professor of Psychology of Religion and Theology, Boston University (Joint Appointment: School of Theology and Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences); Research Director and Staff Psychologist, Albert & Jessie Danielsen Institute; Licensed Psychologist (Massachusetts, Minnesota)

Qualifying Experience: Sandage has published eight books and over 200 articles/chapters (including many peer-reviewed empirical and clinical publications on the topics of mental health and well-being among helping professionals); Over 200 professional conference presentations; Graduate teaching faculty in clinical training programs for past 26 years; Led continuing education workshops at the American Psychological Association (APA) convention and numerous other conferences; APA published a clinical demonstration video of Sandage providing couple therapy and Sandage has new APA clinical video project on relational virtues in psychotherapy in press; APA also has CE workshop of Sandage on forgiveness in clinical practice available online.

Presenter 2: Eric M. Brown, Ph.D., L.P.C.

Position: Assistant Professor of Mental Health Counseling and Behavioral Medicine, Boston University Medical School

Qualifying Experience: Brown has 30 publications; Graduate faculty in clinical training programs at three universities (including teaching trauma across the lifespan); Program director of a master’s program in mental health counseling; 20 conference presentations (including presenting on this topic at American Psychological Association annual convention); Co-investigator on trauma-responsive congregations grant and co-author of related book project; Clinical supervisor; Former pastor and leader of well-being groups for clergy

Presenter 3: Laura E. Captari, Ph.D., LP

Position: Staff Psychologist and Academic Researcher, Albert & Jessie Danielsen Institute, Boston University; Adjunct Faculty, Graduate Counseling Program, Wheelock College of Education and Human Development, Boston University; Licensed Psychologist (Massachusetts)

Qualifying Experience: Captari has published over 40 articles/chapters (including multiple peer-reviewed empirical and clinical publications on multicultural understandings of topics of trauma, burnout, and well-being and one of the few intervention studies to prevent burnout and promote well-being among helping professionals); Over 60 professional conference presentations; Chair of multiple symposiums for continuing education credit at the American Psychological Association (APA) convention and numerous other conferences; Adjunct faculty in multiple graduate clinical training programs over the last decade.

Presenter 4: Elise Ji Young Choe, Ph.D., LP

Qualifying Experience: Choe has published over 35 articles/chapters (including multiple peer-reviewed empirical and clinical publications on multicultural understandings of topics related to trauma, burnout, and well-being and one of the few intervention studies to prevent burnout and promote well-being among helping professionals); Over 30 conference presentations and chair of multiple symposia at conferences including sessions for continuing education credit; Graduate-level instructor in mental health counseling program

Presenter 5: Sarah A. Crabtree, Ph.D., LMFT

Position: Assistant Director of Research at the Albert & Jessie Danielsen Institute; Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (Massachusetts, Minnesota)

Qualifying Experience: Crabtree has published 35 articles/chapters (including multiple peer-reviewed empirical and clinical publications on the topics of mental health and well-being among therapists and religious leaders); Over 20 conference presentations; Graduate-level instructor on couple and family therapy at Boston University; Co-leader of clinical training seminar on couple and family therapy at the Danielsen Institute; APA clinical demonstration video on strengths and flourishing in psychotherapy in press.

Presenter 6: George S. Stavros, Ph.D., LP

Position: Executive Director and Licensed Psychologist at the Albert & Jessie Danielsen Institute at Boston University; Clinical Faculty in Pastoral Psychology, Boston University.

Qualifying Experience: Stavros has been a graduate and postgraduate-level clinical instructor in psychotherapy for 24 years, directing both intensive outpatient and outpatient community mental health programs and overseeing the clinical, training, and research mission of the Danielsen Institute as Executive Director for the past 15 years. He is co-author of Relational spirituality in psychotherapy: Healing suffering and promoting growth and co-editor of The skillful soul of the psychotherapist, in addition to 12 peer-reviewed clinical publications and over 50 professional presentations on the integration of spirituality and mental health.

Commercial Support:

This conference is funded in part by a generous grant from The Peale Foundation.

Conflict of interest attestation:

The presenters have no conflicts of interest to report

Reference list:

*Establishes an empirical support and evidence base

# Engages cultural diversity

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