InHealth Compassion Resilience Toolkit for Parents pilot receives positive feedback

02/21/20 12:19:pm

parents_caregivers coverv2x500.jpg Rogers InHealth’s compassion resilience toolkit has been impactful for health and human services organizations and schools who are looking to reduce burnout and promote a healthier culture.

Sarah Reed, PhD, Rogers InHealth program and evaluation manager says that one of the goals of the toolkit is to help parents reconceptualize the idea of self-care to show that it isn’t just exercising or drinking a glass of wine. Instead, the toolkit promotes things like setting healthy boundaries with children and family, having clearer or more reasonable expectations, and aligning your actions with your core family values.

“Self-care is a lot more than traditional notions make it out to be,” Dr. Reed says.

Pilots show promising results

After running a few pilots, InHealth is gearing up to rollout the newest toolkit for parents and caregivers.

In the three pilots, feedback has been promising and Dr. Reed says that parents are getting a lot of value just from connecting with each other. Some even continue to meet after the formal sessions end.

“We’re hearing that conversations with other parents have helped normalize the fatigue and burnout that parents and caretakers experience, and to feel a lesser degree of shame around it,” Dr. Reed says.

One parent reflected, “This was unique to me, only my therapist has broached parent fatigue with me… I can’t think of any other groups focused on self-compassion.” Another said, “It feels empowering to know people who are struggling with the same things.”

Next steps

The next step for InHealth is holding an online pilot of the toolkit available to the community. Dr. Reed says the first of these sessions—which is already at capacity for participants—will take place March 19 and each Thursday afternoon through May 7. More opportunities to join classes will be shared with Rogers team members in the near future.

Those interested learning more can visit https://compassionresiliencetoolkit.org.

InHealth hopes to have the materials specific to the Parent and Caregiver toolkit available online by April 1, and that more than 500 people have already signed up to get notified of the release.