A Seminar on the Prevention of Professional Burnout Brought Together Specialists from the Educational Field at Karin Dom
The topic of professional burnout syndrome, also known as “burnout”, is extremely relevant, especially for specialists from educational institutions. It directly affects teachers and assistant teachers in kindergartens, as well as specialists working with children with special needs and their parents.
At the beginning of June, at Karin Dom, we held a seminar dedicated to the prevention of professional burnout. Principals, teachers and pedagogical advisers from four Varna kindergartens, our long-term partners: Kindergarten Gorska Prikazka, Kindergarten Iglika, Kindergarten Margaritka and Kindergarten Sluncho participated in it.
Hosts Veselina Tincheva and Nikoleta Yoncheva, PhD, had organized a creative, practically oriented seminar to give colleagues ideas for reducing stress and looking for new ways to take better care of themselves.
During the workshop, they used several art therapy techniques to provoke the use of personal resources to cope with stress and prevent burnout. Internal resources are our personal qualities, what supports us, makes us happy and gives us the strength to deal with various challenges. External resources can be family, favorite hobbies, books, support and interest groups, nature, pets, a warm shower, pleasant music, friends, even favorite scents, etc. The participants used clay as a material for the pictorial techniques. Working with clay calms, grounds, develops abstract thinking, through which one can explore the tasks of one’s life from a different perspective. The spontaneity of actions turns images into metaphors.
At the end of the workshop, participants left energized and shared that the activities had a therapeutic effect on them, just what they needed at the end of the school year.
In the period June 17-20, Training for Trainers for the Prevention of Burnout in Early Childhood Intervention will take place in Portugal under an international project financed by the Erasmus+ program. Vesselina Tincheva and Dr. Nikoleta Yoncheva will participate in the training as trainers, and several other colleagues will participate remotely. All those who successfully complete the course will receive an internationally recognized certificate. Within the framework of the project, two Workbooks for the prevention of burnout were created – for specialists and parents of children with special needs.
Expect the topic “Prevention of Professional Burnout” in the Karin Dom training program on 11.10.2024.
The training will be conducted by certified Karin Dom trainers and all interested parties who train and provide support to children with special needs and their families will be able to participate.
Photos: Dian Georgiev
