The Caregiver’s Wandering: The Quest for Identity Integration in the Workplace Using Reflection, Talking Circles, and Creative Expression

Main Article Content

Pascale Annoual

Abstract

These workshops are inspired by the observations of the author in the field of mental health services delivery. The way the caregiver’s role is interpreted is different between the caregiver and the management team - the clinician cannot imagine her professional commitment without considering personal values and motivations, whereas the employer considers personal motivations an impairment to professional effectiveness. This may explain the high rate of burnout for the practitioners working in already stressful conditions in healthcare.  Could the reconciliation of personal and professional dimensions prevent this disavowal of human capital?  Holistic art therapy proposes to integrate the divide, to repair the rupture often experienced by the caregiver in clinical practice. Furthermore the ethnopsychiatry approach helps to reintegrate bio-psychosocial and spiritual narratives to rebalance the power struggles of workplace which may undermine the professional’s performance and fundamental raison d’être. The caregiver can become whole, balancing interpersonal, interdisciplinary and intercultural dimensions in healthcare practices.

Article Details

How to Cite
Annoual, P. (2014). The Caregiver’s Wandering: The Quest for Identity Integration in the Workplace Using Reflection, Talking Circles, and Creative Expression. The International Journal of Whole Person Care, 1(1). https://doi.org/10.26443/ijwpc.v1i1.72
Section
Congress 2013