Graduate Psychology Programs’ Self-Care Culture and Student Behaviour
Graduate Psychology Programs’ Self-Care Culture and Student Behaviour
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Issue Date
2024-08-13
Authors
Nguyen, Linda
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Abstract
Graduate training represents a crucial period for aspiring professional psychologists. However, it also involves increased stress and demands, elevating the risks of adverse outcomes among graduate students. Prior research supports self-care as an effective strategy for preventing and mitigating the stressors of graduate training and preparing students for future professional practice. However, it also suggests that graduate training often underemphasized self-care, prompting researchers to advocate for a stronger self-care culture within graduate programs. This paper explores how the self-care culture in graduate programs influences student behaviours. A review of current literature provides an overview of self-care in professional psychology, graduate students' self-care experiences, the responsibility of self-care competencies, and the impact of graduate programs’ self-care culture. The findings suggest that a stronger self-care culture in graduate programs is associated with greater student engagement in self-care behaviours. Additionally, it identified self-care as a foundational competency necessary for effective and ethical professional practice. As such, it highlights the need for a collective and comprehensive approach to developing self-care competencies through strengthening graduate programs’ self-care culture. By prioritizing self-care early in training, graduate programs can support future psychologists’ personal resilience and professional longevity.
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Keywords
self-care culture , professional competency , graduate psychology programs , graduate students , self-care behaviours