“Self-care is never a selfish act—it is simply good stewardship of the only gift I have, the gift I was put on earth to offer to others. Anytime we can listen to true self and give it the care it requires, we do so not only for ourselves but for the many others whose lives we touch.”

-Parker J. Palmer, Let Your Life Speak
As quoted on the Center for Courage and Renewal Web site

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In the initial stages of a new system of care grant, there’s lots of excitement, confusion, passion, ideas, and planning. There’s excitement about being part of something really important, about creating social change for children and families, and communities. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed with all the varying needs our systems bring to bear on a grant community. We hold focus groups, we strategize, we collaborate, and sure enough our system of care community begins to take shape. Our excitement and planning take form and the daily persistence of implementation emerges. It takes great courage for all of us to assist children and families, professional helpers, organizations, and institutions toward a more holistic way of being, to work better together, and to persist despite our setbacks.

Not all goes as planned however, and by year three of our grant, we begin to show our wear. Many times we have to change course with our system of care efforts, sometimes setting us back months or years (I know this from experience!). How do we and our partners sustain ourselves and our work (not only financially) through this wonderful, difficult and daunting process we call developing a system of care?

Modeling Change: How Can We Be What We Want to See?

As leaders (all of us in system of care reform are leaders) we put our hearts on the line in very public places only to see our hearts challenged, buried by too much to do, or worse yet, dismissed by those not yet open to change. We sometimes begin to protect ourselves and not show ourselves fully in our work; it’s too risky, too exhausting, and too disappointing. But showing ourselves fully is what sustains our vitality and passion in the middle of chaos!

As mental health systems implement “The Recovery Model” in our communities, it’s important to ask if the professionals and family/consumer leaders are practicing recovery themselves. Can we “be the change we want to see”?

We are all negatively impacted by the turnover in our service systems. What sustains and renews us as we work with heart-wrenching and complex problems is a question vital to all of us in system of care. How do we remain compassionate in the midst of angry and fearful family members and professionals? How do we garner wisdom and not cynicism? How do we continue to roll up our sleeves when the initial excitement dissipates? These are important questions for us to address as we move further into our system of care work as grant communities and as part of a larger national reform.

Washington Courage and Renewal: Reconnecting Who You Are With What You Do

I found that there is a way to tend to our personal and professional selves, a way to stay connected to our vocation with renewed energy.

As a former System of Care Project Director for King County, Washington, I worked with our Washington system of care for a full 6 years, plus a 7th year renewal. When our system of care grant ended in King County, Washington after the extension year, I wasn’t sure I would return to government service or system of care work. I too was weary, a bit disenchanted, and I wondered where my passions lay under the heavy layers of bureaucracy. At that time I entered a “Circle of Trust” facilitated by Washington Courage and Renewal. I rediscovered my passion for my vocation – for “my people” - those in the system of care, daily facing the joys and struggles of that exemplary work. The system of care has not lost me, nor have I abandoned it. I reconnected with my energy and creativity and gladly, I can say “I’m back!”

I am now a national TA consultant as well as a consultant and facilitator for Washington Courage and Renewal. I continue to be impassioned about helping system of care professionals and family leaders stay invigorated and committed to their work.

The Program: What It Is and How It Works

Washington Courage & Renewal is an affiliate of the Center for Courage & Renewal, an educational non-profit that strengthens individuals, professions, and communities through their stated mission of “reconnecting who you are with what you do.” They have been hosting retreats and sessions for K-12 teachers for eight years, and have now expanded their range to help health care providers and other professionals who provide essential community services reconnect with their vocations.

The Center has 125 trained facilitators that conduct on-site workshops, introductory retreats, seasonal series retreats, and, in Washington State, one-on-one personal sessions.

The Center lists the following outcomes as impacts of their work:

• Renewed teachers, healthcare providers, clergy, lawyers, community leaders engage in restoring the “heart” of their vocations;
• Transformed leaders commit to restoring the spirit, integrity, and wholeness of their organizations and communities;
• The circle of trust approach—one that honors and supports the inward journey in service of authentic leadership and a sustained commitment to challenging work in the world—is recognized as a compelling approach to courageous living and leading.

To find out more information, take a look at the Center for Courage and Renewal’s Web sites: www.couragerenewal.org and www.wactt.org.

You can contact author Catherine Follett at CatherineFollett@msn.com.

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The title image was graciously borrowed from the Washington State Courage to Teach website (http:/www.wactt.org).