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Caring for the Practitioner in Training

Lisa Ritchie, Tammy Rendina and Ryan Marinelli

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Coming soon

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.

Section outlines

This resource will include the following sections.

  • Caring for the practitioner in training
  • Self-care planning
  • Self-care skills
  • Self-compassion
  • Accessing support

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