This series critically explores the self-awareness, training and the mental well being of education professionals. In this episode. In this episode, Marcela and I discuss educational trauma triggers, the need for self-awareness programs and the importance of self-care.

Marcela begins with the introduction of herself and how she journeyed from a clinical background into an education role. She explains how she had a calling into a helping role and started out in nursing and healing bodies. This led Marcela into psychology and counselling as she wanted to understand the mind, body and soul. She talks about our holistic existence post-trauma.

6.15: I ask Marcela for her thoughts on professionals entering the field with unresolved trauma who work with those also with trauma that has not been resolved.

6.50: Marcela believes professionals enter to search and understand who they are, why they’re here and to resolve earlier trauma as this leads to helping others. I then further ask how this impacts upon educational stress and burnout.

8.39: It is Marcela’s belief that having the knowledge and skills so we don’t cross boundaries or re-traumatise ourselves or those we work with is key. She continues with ‘responding to self triggers is where the learning needs to begin’.

10.28: I agree and discuss how many people think they are self-aware though the research around this paints a different picture. With this in mind, self-awareness programs should be available for professionals and I ask Marcela for her thoughts on this being formerly part of training programs.

12.09: Marcela agrees without a doubt. She discusses what’s changed over the last decade and highlights how there’s still so much more that can be done. In her opinion, it was during the pandemic when conversations of stress and burnout began. Marcela continues to say how there has been a slight decline in the levels of burnout meaning that self-awareness is becoming more prominent. However, as she stresses, we need to be taught how to recognise, how to be self-aware and what to do if we are all to benefit from it.

15.09: I then discuss how there is more support available for self-care though this tends to be externally and how this can put professionals off from accessing help, especially with the time constraints they have .

17.25: As we continue with the benefits of developing techniques for self-care and mindfulness, I ask Marcela how we can measure these techniques. She offers her experience of what has been tried and tested such as the self-reference scale (i.e., where individuals check in with how they feel in their bodies), self-journaling and how feedback from others can sometimes make us aware of something for the 1st time. I agree with these and discuss how taking feedback from students is a great way to personally measure performance.

22.35: This needs to be viewed from different perspectives and not just the students of course and Marcela highlights how professionals often don’t practice what they preach.

We end this show with calling for implementing collaboration particularly as different cultures can have different ideas. We, as professionals, need to be a role model and developing self-awareness is a good place to start.