Description
NC InCK’s May 2026 Integrated Care Rounds focused on strategies for managing burnout and strengthening regulation skills for care managers. The session shared practical tips and resources to help care managers navigate the complex stressors of their roles, so they can best support themselves, their colleagues, and the children and families they work with.
Key Takeaways
Stress Isn’t the Problem. Getting Stuck Is.
- The work is meaningful but also demanding. It’s important to have boundaries, support, and intentional skills you use regularly.
- Replaying situations is not problem-solving. Instead, talk about it, write it down, and refocus on something meaningful.
- Build skills during work, not just after hours.
Avoidance doesn’t reduce stress. It prolongs it.
- Engaging with difficult emotions helps you process and move through them.
- Notice and name emotions.
- Practice curiosity and empathy instead of suppressing emotions.
Tips for Preventing Burnout in Practice:
- Set realistic expectations (with yourself and families).
- Maintain daily structure (schedule, breaks, stop time).
- Lean on your team—don’t work in isolation.
- Take PTO and rest intentionally without feeling guilty.
- Build a “joy toolbox” with activities that help you feel restored.
Resources
Evidence-Based Readings:
- A components-based practice and supervision model for reducing compassion fatigue by affecting clinician experience. Miller, B., & Sprang, G. (2017).
- Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle by Amelia Nagoski.
Personal Development Readings: