Recently I got a puppy.  Actually, my partner and I got TWO puppies on the same day, leading us to wonder what is wrong with us (impulsive decision!) and leading us to get outside - several times a day.  In reflecting on the impact of this overnight lifestyle adjustment, I’ve decided to write a bit about the benefits of getting outside for our physical and mental wellness.  I’ll also include a puppy photo because I believe exposure to cuteness leads to a type of mental wellness for many of us.  You’re welcome.

It’s not just canine companions that encourage getting outside; most of us in the Unconditional Education family spend a lot of time with children at work.  And children and youth tend to be experts at getting outside -- (and are cute too!). I guess what I’m getting at is that going outside is almost always an option and this can enhance our lives significantly. It's easy to get caught up in the stress of our responsibilities, tethered to screens and collapsing on the couch after work. Looking at the natural instincts of children to run and play is a gentle reminder that we, too, can be profoundly impacted by just getting out there and taking a walk.

Nourishing the Body and Mind: Embracing Active Play and Wonder: Children are naturally inclined to move their bodies and engage in active play. We even offer students “energy releases” to help them eventually focus better in the classroom. Spontaneous outdoor activities not only promote physical health but can also foster a sense of joy and tap into our inner freedom. As adults, we can take inspiration from children's playfulness and incorporate more imagination and movement into our outdoor experiences. 

Likewise walking my puppies has forced me to get up earlier, splash in puddles, appreciate the thrill of finding the perfect chew-stick, and even notice more squirrels perching in the trees.  We all know that exercise boosts mood and improves physical health.  Add in the playfulness of seeing the world through the eyes of a child or pet, and suddenly we’ve got the potential for an energetic shift towards wonder.  Sometimes I really don’t feel like going on a walk, but I ALWAYS feel better afterwards: more physically grounded, not to mention proud of the steps I’m adding to my exercise goals.  

Cultivating Connection: Building Bonds Through Shared Experiences: Children routinely demonstrate how outdoor activities provide endless opportunities for social interaction and community building.  Walk through an elementary school playground at recess and you’ll see children chasing each other, playing together and huddling to talk in little groups. Sometimes the play escalates and there’s drama, of course, but there’s no denying the buzz of community on a playground during the school day.  It is a key part of a child’s day and where relationships often grow and are strengthened.

Now that I’m walking my dogs' multiple times a day, I’ve come to know my neighbors in an entirely new way. The morning crew at my nearby coffee shop now knows my coffee order and has it ready before I even get inside (it’s a small coffee, pretty easy one to remember but still-I feel seen and connected!). I hear about things that are going on in our community from the folks who are closely involved, and I notice when things change over time.  I am more present in my own neighborhood, and this feels invaluable.  I have my puppies to thank for this, 100%.  

The Science Supports Getting Outside: I’ve written this as an opinion piece, but there’s science behind it. This Cultivating Health article from UC Davis clearly outlines the physical and mental health benefits of getting outside. I highly recommend it if you’d like some simple ideas and inspiration for your own journey into the outdoors.  And as promised, please enjoy this photo of our furry friends Atticus (GusGus) and Penelope (Lopey).  ​

On Tuesday, January 23rd, UE piloted our first ever UE Annual Training Evaluation and Recertification Process. The first session focused on the popular training: Trauma Informed Education (TIE).  
 
The goals for this session were to ensure that UE provides relevant training that meets our partners' needs, is data-driven, and rooted in a DEI framework.  9 lead trainers gathered together and reviewed 500 attendee evaluations between Fall 2020-Present, utilized the new DEI Screener to assess the training through a DEI lens, and provided their own personal feedback, recommendations and revisions.
 
The quantitative data from the 500 evaluations were strong (summarized below) and qualitative data provided helpful themes for continued improvement: 

​Hi UE! Linzy Here, Your very own Director of Operations!  It is 2024 and we are resetting our minds, bodies and even our personal budgets.  Financial Literacy is one of the Ops Teams’ focus for our PLC (Professional Learning Community) time and we have resources to share with YOU!

As you ground your financial selves for 2024, check out this episode from the Yo Quiero Dinero Podcast on "8 Steps to Build Wealth”.  The episode reviews 8 essential steps to improve your financial literacy and practices.

• LISTEN to “8 Steps to Build Wealth” HERE.
  
• READ MY NOTES HERE.
  

Grounding 
Like a tree that has its root deep into Mother Earth’s belly, we, too, as humans need to ground ourselves when things feel off balance in our lives. One way of grounding is using grounding statements instead of positive affirmation statements.  
Grounding statements are defined as statements that feel true to us and help regulate us. For folx who have experienced trauma, positive affirmations may not be as effective because they feel untrue.  For example, saying to oneself, “I feel safe right now” may not feel true because the feeling is still one of “not feeling safe.” However, a grounding statement such as “I can feel my feet pressing on the ground” or “It’s okay to not be okay right now,” may resonate with someone who may not feel safe at the moment while also creating grounding.  

Dr. Nubia describes that “during a trauma trigger, the body reacts to a cue in the environment that the amygdala perceives as danger. The nervous system reacts as an attempt to protect you - because it believes you are still in the moment of the original past trauma…the grounding statements help ground us in the present…signal to our amygdala that we are not actually in danger in the present moment.” (@dr.nubia) 
​
Other grounding statements can include:

• I am having a moment right now. It will pass.
• I am grateful for ___________.
• I can take space when my body asks. I don’t need permission to take space.
• I don’t like this feeling. I know that it’s just a feeling and it won’t last forever.
• It’s okay to make mistakes. I’m still learning.
• This is hard. I can do hard things.

Other helpful resources on grounding activities:

1. https://svpro.mcmaster.ca/app/uploads/2020/02/Symptoms-of-Traumatic-Stress-and-Grounding-Techniques.pdf 
2. https://www.brandeis.edu/parc/docs/groundingtechniqueshandout.pdf 
3. https://positivepsychology.com/grounding-techniques/ 
4. https://livingwell.org.au/well-being/mental-health/grounding-exercises/ 
5. https://louisville.edu/counseling/coping-with-covid-19/Grounding-Worksheet.pdf/

For the last few years, we have made it a practice to incorporate conversations and reflections about power and privilege into our work. One way we do this is by including a question about power and privilege into our check-in during group supervision. Each person reflects on the question, “What examples of power and privilege have you observed this week?” or “How have power and privilege impacted you this week?” Answering this question has created space for wide ranging discussions about how power and privilege show up in our lives and in our work with clients, families, and staff. Examples include experiences from our own lives as well as what we have observed at our school sites. Some examples highlight positions of power and privilege, and others focus on feelings of subjugation. This practice has helped to deepen our understanding of each other and to help unpack our own blind spots as well as to share moments where we have felt vulnerable. The hope is that by practicing this skill (noticing and reflecting on the dynamics of power and privilege) we are better able to address these issues when they come up in our work. So, join us in this reflection! How have power and privilege impacted you this week?

​Wheel of Privilege 

Chronic Absenteeism (generally defined as students who have missed 10% or more of school), has been in the news a lot lately (Attendance Works).  It’s been a thorny problem in education since way before COVID, and it has only worsened in recent years (NPR.org).  
 
The additional funding pathways opened up in response to COVID provided opportunities for schools to design and implement innovative approaches to meet the exacerbated challenges at hand.  One such approach is the Compass Care model, co-developed by Valor Collegiate Academies and Seneca, with research and development support from Transcend Education. Compass Care is a short term (~10 week) tier three student- and family-focused intervention to uncover the reasons leading to chronic absenteeism and support students and families in identifying solutions and putting them into practice. 
 
The 2023-24 school year brings our third year of implementation in the two middle schools and one high school that make up the Valor Collegiate Academies network. It’s also the third year of Seneca’s partnership with Rocketship Public Schools California, where a grant from the California Community Schools Partnership Program (CCSPP) has provided funding for the CareCorps program, a school-based family-focused wraparound team that brings a deep focus to helping families access the basic needs resources that are the foundation to wellbeing. .  
 
Envision Academy in Oakland was also awarded a CCSPP grant to implement Compass Care in their middle school and high school. Launching the new Envision partnership in 2023-24 and bringing our innovative model to another school community has been very exciting. We’re learning a great deal with each year of implementation. The data from our work so far is promising, and we’re currently looking at other opportunities to expand the model and assess its impact in wider sample sizes. 

The rates of burnout in mental health professionals have increased in recent years. Across several studies, it’s been found that 21% to 67% of mental health workers have experienced high levels of burnout.
 
As providers we use ourselves as tools. Keeping those tools in good condition can be challenging when managing busy caseloads, keeping up with paperwork, trainings, and other various demands of the job.  Before one of our Pathways clinicians became a mental health provider, she primarily taught Yoga. In yoga training, instructors are trained to think of themselves as conduits (or tool) for healing, allowing energy and teachings to flow through them.

As a mental health practitioner, she finds it beneficial to apply these yoga principles because it helps her separate herself from the work when appropriate. A tool can be put away when not in use, it is not part of us or within us, we are in control and have choice of how and when to use it. For her, this is a key understanding for workplace self-care hygiene. The practitioner as tool mentality sets up a mental boundary as to when the work begins and ends. It makes space for us to do difficult work with children and families facing complex trauma and later engage with our loved ones when we get home without our thoughts and heart still being tied up in the work.

The term self-care hygiene is meaningful for minimizing burnout because it suggests that it’s a daily preventive practice. All too often we don’t give our needs attention until there is an outstanding problem.  

All service providers are vulnerable to vicarious trauma or compassion fatigue. Vicarious trauma is a process of change resulting from empathetic engagement with trauma survivors. Anyone who engages empathetically with survivors of traumatic incidents, or material relating to their trauma, is potentially affected, including doctors and other health professionals. Compassion Fatigue refers to the way that employees who directly assist people with trauma may develop their own Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) as a result of empathizing with clients.

The first step in managing vicarious trauma or compassion fatigue is to identify it when it is happening (please see below for a list of common symptoms). The second step; minimize stigma!! Burnout is a common and normal response to abnormal circumstances. In-line with the practitioner as tool mentality, it can be expected that the tools need some maintenance and upkeep to perform the job effectively. Take up space, give workplace challenges airtime in psychologically safe environments. Share experiences with your supervisors, talk about it in consult groups and enlist the support of your colleagues. Talking about the burnout can help us get the support we need and encourage others to do the same.

Finally, action to mitigate stigma around burnout is through Rest! The glorification of overworking and normalizing unhealthy levels of stress is pervasive throughout workplace culture. Rest is Resistance! Build helpful breaks into the workday to do something restorative (that does not involve a cell phone). Step out into nature, feed yourself something healthy, enjoy a leisurely walk, plan time off. Self-care hygiene can include finding a mindfulness practice; try yoga, meditation, or walks in nature. I am grateful to share in this work of being a healing tool to serve our community. Our community is better served when we prioritize the maintenance of these important tools. 
​
Have your own tips for self-care hygiene? Please share in the comments below!

 Some common signs of burnout include:

• experiencing lingering feelings of anger, rage and sadness about client’s victimization
• becoming overly involved emotionally with the client
• experiencing bystander guilt, shame, feelings of self-doubt
• being preoccupied with thoughts of clients outside of the work situation
• over identification with the client (having horror and rescue fantasies)
• loss of hope, pessimism, cynicism
• distancing, numbing, detachment, cutting clients off, staying busy; avoiding listening to client's story of traumatic experiences
• difficulty in maintaining professional boundaries with the client, such as overextending self (trying to do more than is in the role to help the client)