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Caring for the Practitioner in Training

Lisa Ritchie, Tammy Rendina and Ryan Marinelli

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In development - Coming early 2027

Caring for the Practitioner in Training is an open educational resource designed to support students in counselling, psychology and other helping professions to care for their own wellbeing while undertaking professional training. Many students entering these fields bring personal experiences of mental health challenges, illness, injury or disability, and course content can sometimes activate these experiences. This resource provides practical strategies to help students engage with their learning while maintaining emotional safety and wellbeing.

Co-designed with students, the resource begins with foundational concepts such as self-awareness, emotional regulation and reflective practice. It offers structured psychoeducation alongside practical tools including self-care planning, emotional regulation strategies and guided reflection activities. The aim is to support students to develop sustainable professional habits while building their emerging practitioner identity.

Designed for undergraduate and postgraduate students preparing for careers in helping professions, the resource can be embedded within university subjects or used as a standalone support for students navigating emotionally demanding course content. Developed through educator observation and student feedback, it provides a practical, responsive approach to supporting the wellbeing of practitioners in training.

Through engaging with this resource, learners are supported to develop the following capabilities:

  1. Recognise how their lived experiences, values and personal responses may influence their learning, wellbeing and emerging professional identity.
  2. Reflect on their own wellbeing and identify personal, professional and contextual sources of emotional load during training and practice.
  3. Develop a personalised self-care plan that draws on evidence-informed self-care skills, self-compassion and sources of support.
  4. Apply self-reflection and self-care strategies to support sustainable professional practice in mental health.

Section outlines

This resource will include the following sections.

Caring for the practitioner in training

Introduces the emotional realities of studying helping professions and highlights the importance of self-awareness and proactive self-care when course content resonates with lived experience. Educators can use this chapter early in a program or prior to placement to facilitate class discussion, normalise emotional responses to course content and establish a foundation for reflective practice. This early preparation can help students respond more effectively to emotionally challenging learning experiences, promoting both wellbeing and engagement with learning.

Self-care planning

Guides students to create a personalised self-care plan that helps them recognise when they are struggling and identify practical ways to respond and seek support. Educators can use this chapter early in a program, before placement or as a reflective learning activity to support students in developing a personalised self-care plan. This proactive approach can help students recognise signs of distress early and respond before difficulties begin to affect their wellbeing or learning.

Self-care skills

Builds students’ capacity to manage emotional demands through core skills such as mindfulness, emotional regulation and distress tolerance. Educators can use this chapter within skills-based teaching, reflective activities or placement preparation to support the development of practical self-care skills. Developing these skills can help students remain engaged during emotionally challenging learning experiences, strengthen resilience and support sustainable professional practice.

Self-compassion

Explores self-compassion as a foundational mindset for coping with difficulty, encouraging students to respond to themselves with kindness, common humanity and awareness. Educators can use this chapter throughout a program, during placement or within supervision and reflective learning activities to foster self-compassion and reflective practice. Developing self-compassion can help students navigate mistakes, uncertainty and feedback more effectively, supporting wellbeing and reducing blocks to learning such as excessive self-criticism and perfectionism.

Accessing support

Outlines the range of formal and informal supports available and supports students to seek help early and appropriately when needed. Educators can use this chapter throughout a program, during placement or when students are experiencing challenges to promote awareness of available supports and encourage timely help-seeking. Helping students recognise when and how to seek support can minimise the impact of challenges on learning and wellbeing, supporting ongoing engagement, retention and success.

Collaborate with Us

We invite educators, subject coordinators, and program leaders in counselling, psychology, rehabilitation counselling, social work and allied health to express interest in contributing to the development of Caring for the Practitioner in Training.

There are several ways to be involved:

  • Pilot the resource in a subject
    Trial the resource in an undergraduate or postgraduate subject and share feedback on how it supports students engaging with emotionally demanding course content.
  • Contribute educator feedback
    Provide insights from your teaching experience to help refine the resource and ensure it reflects the realities of practitioner training.
  • Share teaching strategies or resources
    Contribute examples of activities, approaches or materials that support student wellbeing in helping profession education.
  • Support evaluation and research
    Participate in evaluation activities (e.g. surveys, reflections or interviews) to help build evidence about effective ways to support students with lived experience in professional training.
  • Join a community of practice
    Connect with other educators interested in developing sustainable approaches to supporting student wellbeing in practitioner education.

Submit an expression of interest

Details

Publication date: TBA
Publisher: La Trobe eBureau
ISBN: 978-1-7641666-2-1
DOI: https://doi.org/10.26826/1030