Bucharest joint staff training

The first 4LessBurnout joint staff training took place during the 25th-27th of April in Bucharest, Romania. The event was hosted by the European Association for Social Innovation and gathered 25 staff members and social practitioners from 5 European countries: Greece, Portugal, Romania, Ireland and France. The 3-days training focused on the presentation of the 4LessBurnout results and the interaction with the tool for burnout level assessment.
The first day of training familiarized all participants with the 4LessBurnout initiative, its objectives and results. Moreover, some interactive activities, such as icebreakers and Human Library, were performed and allowed the trainees to get to know each other. During the second part of the day, two interventions from special guests were moderated. The first presentation addressed the connection between mental health and social work and was facilitated by Monica Liuță, psychologist representing DepreHub. The second presentation was delivered by Florin Lazăr, vicepresident of the National College of Social Workers and introduced the Romanian social work scene.

The second day of the training included a workshop dedicated to the 4LessBurnout instrument of assessing the level of burnout and work-related stressors, followed by a feedback session from the trainees. This activity was succeeded by a mindfulness activity facilitated by Nicoleta Brown, which introduced some yoga practices that can be performed by the professionals on a daily basis. Afterwards, Dr. Psychologist Sorina Daniela Dumitrache held a presentation regarding vicarious trauma – between self-denial and self-care for those who care for others. For the last part of the day, the participants were involved in a workshop aimed to validate the 4LessBurnout training curriculum.

The third day of the learning experience began with a workshop entitled Burnout in-depth, where the participants expanded the debate around their experiences with burnout. Moreover, the participants enjoyed the intervention of Eliza Ristea, a certified trainer, who presented some self-care strategies and how nutrition and sport play a vital role in combating burnout symptoms. The training ended with a reflection and feedback session where the trainees shared their last impressions.