MCCCD Program Description

Professional Resiliency and Well-Being

Course: BHS155

First Term: 2021 Fall

Lecture 1.0 Credit(s) 1.0 Period(s) 1.0 Load
Subject Type: Occupational
Load Formula: S - Standard Load

Description: Exploration of building human resilience and well-being to prevent burnout, traumatic stress, and compassion fatigue for social services and mental health professionals, healthcare providers, emergency first responders, and other relationship-intense occupations. Causes, symptoms, and effects of traumatic stress, burnout compassion fatigue and other work-related stress. Focus on enhancing quality of life and improving a healthy lifestyle by incorporating evidenced-based practices in psychological and emotional resilience training, cognitive behavioral therapy, mindfulness, positive psychology, prevention, peer support, and self-care, including nutrition, exercise, and sleep.

MCCCD Official Course Competencies
1. Recognize the historical developments that gave rise to the concept of human resilience, burnout, traumatic stress, and compassion fatigue. (I) 2. Identify factors that contribute to trauma, burnout and compassion fatigue. (II) 3. Describe how work-related stress can compromise physical, cognitive, emotional, social, and spiritual well-being. (II, III) 4. Develop mindfulness and self-relaxation strategies to create a sense of calmness and safety in the mind and body. (IV) 5. Recognize effective skills to modify mindsets, explanatory styles, and core beliefs that reduces resilience to bounce back from setbacks and adversity. (IV) 6. Explore meaning and purpose in work and life to enhance resilience. (IV) 7. Identify elements of positive psychology to enhance happiness and well-being. (IV) 8. Identify skills to build meaningful relationships and positive support systems to improve health and well-being. (IV) 9. Recognize ways to improve health-conscious practices, including healthy eating, healthy activity, healthy sleep, and self-compassion. (IV) 10. Analyze strengths-based character and virtues that support resilience. (IV) 11. Utilize key psychological and emotional resiliency skills to resolve current symptoms and prevent future effects associated with traumatic stress and compassion fatigue. (IV) 12. Design a six-point self-directed professional resiliency plan. (V)
MCCCD Official Course Competencies must be coordinated with the content outline so that each major point in the outline serves one or more competencies. MCCCD faculty retains authority in determining the pedagogical approach, methodology, content sequencing, and assessment metrics for student work. Please see individual course syllabi for additional information, including specific course requirements.

MCCCD Official Course Outline
I. Historical development A. Identification of contributing experiences 1. Resilience research 2. Burnout research 3. Traumatic stress 4. Compassion fatigue B. Significant contributors 1. Herbert Ferudenberger 2. Christina Maslach 3. Carla Joinson 4. Charles Figley 5. Beth Stamm 6. Laurie Anne Pearlman 7. Lisa McCann 8. Others C. Inclusion in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) II. Causes and symptoms A. Work-related stress in relationship-intense occupations 1. Primary traumatic stress 2. Secondary traumatic stress 3. Burnout 4. Compassion fatigue 5. Other work-related stress B. Recognizing stress 1. Spectrum of emotional and behavioral presentations 2. Assessment/diagnostic instruments 3. Negative impacts on physical, cognitive, emotional, social, and spiritual well-being, health and quality of life III. Physiological process of stress A. Role of mind and brain 1. Cognition 2. Cortical regions 3. Amygdala 4. Hippocampus 5. Anterior cingulate 6. Reticular activating system B. Stress response and the body`s defense system C. Autonomic nervous system D. Vagus nerve circuity E. Heart rate variability IV. Six-point psychological and emotional resiliency system to manage workplace-related stress, traumatic stress, burnout and compassion fatigue A. Self-regulation 1. Grounding techniques 2. Acute relaxation skills 3. Deep relaxation skills 4. Mindfulness practices B. Cognitive behavioral 1. Cognitive restructuring 2. Growth mindset 3. ABC model 4. Explanatory styles 5. Cognitive belief system 6. Self-referential thinking 7. Internal locus of control 8. Demand vs free choice C. Positive psychology 1. Optimism 2. Positive emotions 3. Self-discipline and self-control 4. Acceptance and commitment 5. Forgiveness and kindness 6. Fostering gratitude 7. Post-traumatic growth 8. Creating purpose and meaning 9. Grit D. Social connectedness and community building 1. Interpersonal communication skills (sending) 2. Effective listening skills (receiving) 3. Community building 4. Peer support 5. Familial support system 6. Training support systems 7. Sharing trauma narratives E. Character strengths and self-direction 1. Strength-based character strengths and virtues 2. Principles-based ethics 3. Professional moral compass 4. Purpose and meaning 5. Motivation 6. Self-efficacy 7. Accountability 8. Engagement and flow F. Self-care and revitalization 1. Healthy eating 2. Healthy activity 3. Health sleep 4. Self-compassion V. Developing personalized professional resiliency plan

MCCCD Governing Board Approval Date: February 23, 2021

All information published is subject to change without notice. Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of information presented, but based on the dynamic nature of the curricular process, course and program information is subject to change in order to reflect the most current information available.