Resilience of Social Services Professionals

The pandemic has been particularly challenging for professionals in health care and social services, physically and mentally as well as socially and spiritually. Some were overtaken by extreme moral stress and the feeling of falling short, as they had to balance between carrying out the safety precautions and their own desire to care for people in a warm way.

Now that the pandemic is more or less behind us, we want to take some time for contemplation and reflection. Looking back on this health crisis, what did we learn about caring for yourself and each other?

The first speakers, Linus Vanlaere (VIVES Hogeschool) and Mieke Grypdonck (UGent), will present the results of a qualitative research project on the experiences of nurses during covid. Afterwards, An Haekens (Alexianen Zorggroep Tienen) will share her insights from a trajectory of support and guidance for employees in a large healthcare facility. Her central question is: “which tools and instruments are important for providing care with regard to the well-being and health of the employees, also apart from a crisis context?”

Following the study day, there is a public lecture by psychologist of religion Hetty Zock (Rijksuniversiteit Groningen), entitled Harry Potter and the meaning of life.