Self-Care: A Practice for Practitioners

By: Heather May
MOST Project Manager

In the youth development world, there is a big focus on the whole child – educating the whole child, supporting the whole child, and adapting to the whole child. Those of us in this field often show more grace and compassion to the students and families we work with than we do ourselves. During these times of uncertainty and instability, it’s more important than ever to check in with ourselves and each other so we can be effective and stay sustainable in all aspects of our lives. 

Like other aspects of our work, self-care is a practice. It’s not something you are born with knowing. It’s something you get better at over time. That’s why it’s so important to start your good habits now.  

Here are three tips for starting your practice of self-care:  

1. Look to self-understanding. One of the best things you can do for yourself is to regularly reflect on you’re the attitudes, bias, and motivations you bring to your professional life and work. As you practice acts of self-care, you will start to identify when you start a slide towards disengagement and disenchantment. When you start to lose motivation when a student or mentee isn’t literally or figuratively “showing up” to your interactions, acknowledge those feelings and reflect on how you got there. 

2. Tend your greenhouse. Your professional greenhouse refers to those colleagues and peers that you surround yourself with that help you grow, but it also refers to what steps you take to maximize your professional experience. In addition to seeking out trusted colleagues to engage in peer-to-peer mentoring, it’s important to develop yourself as a youth development practitioner by learning new strategies, seeking out professional development opportunities, and being open to feedback from those around you.  

3. Enjoy your successes. Like I said at the beginning, too many of us don’t give ourselves enough credit. When it comes to interpersonal relationships with our students, families, and mentees, it’s important to remember that the smallest success pave the way for long-term, sustainable change and progress. Take the opportunity to celebrate positive news with each other. Similarly, when you assess your relationships and your work, be sure to look at where things went right and see how you can replicate that progress elsewhere. 

Heather May is the Project Manager with the Maryland Out of School Time Network (MOST). She works primarily to advance the Community School strategy in the state through the Maryland Coalition for Community Schools. The Coalition aims to provide a network of support and professional development for Community School educators and leaders and advocate for state funding and support. She has a B.A. in Southern Literature from Emory University and a J.D. from the University of South Carolina School of Law. Heather concentrated on youth and community development and indigent representation. She served as an AmeriCorps VISTA with MOST and is a 2019-2020 White Riley Peterson Policy Fellow.