Fostering Self-Worth and Resilience with System-Involved Youth

Marya Wright, DSW, MSW

Training Description

This training is designed to equip participants with the knowledge and skills necessary to teach system-involved youth and/or their caregivers how to prioritize their well-being and develop a positive sense of self-worth. In today's fast-paced world, it's easy to neglect ourselves and struggle with feelings of inadequacy. This training offers a holistic approach for addressing these challenges. Through engaging discussions, interactive activities, and practical exercises, participants will explore the concept of compassion fatigue and strategies to prevent or manage it in order to maintain physical, mental, and emotional health. We will delve into the connection between these strategies and the development of self-worth, empowering participants to not only recognize their own inherent value and build resilience against self-doubt but also to teach these strategies to system-involved youth and/or their caregivers from an informed perspective. Participants will learn the importance of identifying personalized strategies that align with each person’s unique needs and lifestyles. Participants will learn how these practices can be integrated into daily routines, fostering a greater sense of balance, fulfillment, and self-compassion. By the end of the training, participants will emerge with a deeper understanding of how to prevent compassion fatigue and foster self-worth, along with practical tools to support the ongoing journey toward holistic well-being. The material will be delivered by PowerPoint presentation, short video clips, group discussion, breakout (small group) discussions and participant workbook (handout).

Learning Objectives

Participants will be able to:

· Explain at least two concepts which are significant in maintaining overall well-being.

· Explain the relationship between two strategies for preventing or managing compassion fatigue and the development of self-worth.

· Identify practical strategies that can be taught to system-involved youth and/or their caregivers for application in various aspects of life.

Agenda

10:00am – 10:05am  Welcome and Training Purpose

10:05am – 10:15am  Objectives and Learning Goals

10:15am – 10:30am  What is compassion fatigue and how to prevent and/or manage it

10:30am – 10:45am  What taking care of ourselves means and why it’s important

10:45am – 11:00am  BREAK (CE hours will not be offered for this time)

11:00am – 11:15am  Specific strategies that can benefit physical health

11:15am – 11:30am  Positive effects of engagement in these strategies on overall well-being

11:30am – 11:45am  Practical activities to use with system-involved youth & caregivers

11:45am – 12:00pm  Specific practices that can benefit mental health

12:00pm – 1:00pm  LUNCH (CE hours will not be offered for this time)

1:00pm – 1:15pm  How reflective writing can foster sense of self-worth

1:15pm – 1:25pm  The value of self-worth for system-involved youth

1:25pm – 1:30pm  Specific practices that can benefit emotional health

1:30pm – 1:45pm  Professional influence on system-involved youth reliance

1:45pm – 2:00pm  Connecting resilience of support providers to resilience in youth

2:00pm – 2:15pm  The connection between preventing compassion fatigue & self-worth

2:15pm – 2:30pm  What self-worth means

2:30pm – 2:45pm  BREAK (CE hours will not be offered for this time)

2:45pm – 3:00pm  The effects of low self-worth on mental health of system-involved youth

3:00pm – 3:15pm  Strategies for improving self-worth

3:15pm – 3:30pm  Maintaining well-being and self-worth in practice

3:30pm – 3:45pm  Practical tips and techniques to use with system-involved youth

3:45pm – 4:00pm  Closing & Wrap-up

Meet Our Trainer

Marya Wright, DSW MSW BSW, is a nationally recognized social worker, consultant, educator, and facilitator with extensive experience in organizational leadership, child welfare services, and curriculum development. As the President and CEO of Wright Community Services LLC, Dr. Wright is dedicated to empowering system-involved families through awareness, services, and education. She also provides consultation, training, and facilitation to agencies serving these communities.

Dr. Wright earned her master’s in social work from Cal State East Bay, specializing in Child Welfare Policy and Research, and a bachelor’s in social work with a focus on Child Welfare Services and Motivational Interviewing from San Diego State University. She holds a Doctorate in Social Work from the University of Southern California Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work, focusing on achieving equal opportunity and justice in the child welfare system.

As a community leader, Dr. Wright prioritizes building relationships, networking, and collaborating with stakeholders to address social and economic issues faced by clients, aiming for justice and peace. She serves as a qualified expert witness and forensic social worker. Additionally, Dr. Wright sits on the Board of Directors for the California Society of Clinical Social Work and is actively involved with the National Association of Social Workers and California Chapter.

Dr. Wright’s research interests include child sexual exploitation, foster care, and algorithmic decision-making in child welfare. She has published articles and lectured extensively on these topics. Dr. Wright’s teaching experience includes courses in sociology and social work at Cal State East Bay, focusing on sexualities, child welfare policy, family sociology, and sexual violence. Currently, she serves as a professor in the graduate program teaching generalist practice, human behavior and social environment, and advance practice children youth and families.

This course meets the qualifications for (4.5) BBS CE hours for LCSWs, LMFTs, LPCCs, and LEPs as required by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences & is provided by Fred Finch Youth Center, CAMFT Provider #045295.