Science of Self-Care: How It Helps and Why It Matters

ISSUP presents its webinar on the science behind self-care.

Self-care is critical to ensure educators, helpers, and all people remain healthy and well. In the case of those who work with people with substance use disorders, we have to keep ourselves from getting compassion fatigue and not being our best with our clients. Burnout is always a real possibility when we work with difficult clients. It is critical that we take care of ourselves as helpers and educators to ensure we can best serve our clients and enjoy a healthy work-life balance.

This webinar discusses the science of self-care, why it important, and how it works physiologically and neurologically.

Intended audience: 
All educators and substance use professionals 

Learning outcomes  

1. To understand the concerns about compassion fatigue and burnout and why it is important to take care of ourselves as helpers
2. To understand the science of self-care including our physiological and neurological responses.
3. To become familiar with authentic self-care techniques. 

Presenters

Cary Hopkins Eyles, MA, CAP

Cary Hopkins Eyles, MA, CAP is a Visiting Assistant Instructor in the Department of Criminology at USF. She is a certified addictions professional with 20 years of experience in the field of substance use disorders. After graduating with a master’s degree in criminology from the University of South Florida, she became a counselor at a non-profit treatment center working with women and their children. In that non-profit organization, Cary moved into leadership roles and managed the Residential and Criminal Justice related programs. She has also supervised outpatient and pre-trial diversion programs. After ten years in non-profit direct service and leadership, Cary moved into training and staff development at the same organization. She had seen a great need for additional training and support for the employees and worked with the Human Resources department to create that role.

In 2017, Cary returned to the University of South Florida as an Assistant Director of the UTC Coordinating Center of North American Universities - a grant funded center housed in the Department of Mental Health Law (MHLP). She worked closely with the International Consortium of Universities for Drug Demand Reduction (ICUDDR) during that time and was eventually named their Deputy Director (2020-2023). She helped ICUDDR grow as a non-profit organization.

Cary is a passionate teacher and trainer – conducting international trainings on various substance use disorder topics, adult learning principles, self-care for addictions professionals, the role of shame in substance use cycles, motivational enhancement, and alternatives to incarceration. She has been selected to conduct international and US based webinars, conferences, and training events such as the Lisbon Addictions conference, NAADAC, the Association for Addiction Professionals, and the University of CA San Diego School of Addictions.

Webinars and online events delivered and hosted by the International Society of Substance Use Professionals (ISSUP) are provided for informational purposes only. They are educational in nature and do not constitute medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.