Helping ourselves: a mindfulness-based self-care group for novice counsellors

The purpose of this project was to develop a self-care group for new counsellors. The first part of this project includes a literature review that explores foundation concepts including wellness, impairment, mindfulness, and self-compassion. The group outline is organized into two main parts. In the first part of the group, participants are asked to reflect on the experience of counselling. Topics covered include the wellness-impairment continuum, somatic empathy, and stress. Part two of the group focusses on wellness promotion and participants are asked to reflect upon concepts of mindfulness, self-compassion, and creative self-care. Throughout this group, new counsellors will participate in meditations, experiential activities, and discussions. The guiding principle of this group is that if new counsellors are taught tools to broaden their awareness, then they may be better able to recognise when and how they are being affected by helping and intervene with compassionate self-soothing and self-care practices. --Leaf ii.