By Ruth D. Grenoble, AM, LCSW, CCM
Years ago, as a graduate school student pursuing a master's in social work at the University of Chicago, I took an advanced seminar in violence and trauma with an adjunct professor whose primary job was in the clinical realm. During the course, Professor Jeff Levy, LCSW, CTRS, encouraged us to expand our concept of self-care to augment our academic pursuits with real-world concepts to benefit our future practices.
At the time, I had a somewhat fixed view of what constituted "self-care," only certain activities such as journaling, meditation, yoga, and mindfulness qualified as self-care to me. Instead, we were required to try a different self-care modality for each of the 10 weeks of the course. We could paint, film a video, and do interpretive dance. Having minimal talent in visual art, I thought about what I could do. I enjoyed writing and was a frequent journaler, so it was out of my comfort zone to think about a different way of engaging in self-care.
While I don't remember each week of the ten, there is one week that truly expanded my concept of what self-care means to me: I decided to cook. I have always been interested in food, so much so that when I read a children's book to my kids if it is a book I read as a child, the pages with food items are always the images I remember most clearly and most fondly. As a child and teen, I loved watching my dad cook and then demanding he help me make intricate recipes. Given my love for trying new recipes, my parents eventually implemented a rule that I could only use the kitchen if I were going to clean and organize. At the same time, I cooked (which, in the end, was an incredibly valuable skill). Instead of a lemonade stand, my little brother and our neighborhood friends used our kitchen to bake all sorts of things and then sold our wares in a door-to-door bake sale. Needless to say, I should have realized how much food and cooking meant to me!
During the week I chose cooking, I also had to submit something documenting the experience, so I decided to write a recipe as part of the exercise. I decided to adapt a recipe for scones. Because this was a course about trauma and trauma-informed practice, Professor Levy asked us to think about what our sensory experiences were like as we dabbled in our various versions of self-care. I found it to be an incredibly helpful way to understand the concepts we were learning about the body's response to stress and trauma by thinking very specifically about my own nervous system and how it responded to different activities.
What I noticed most about my experience was my mind's calm – like I could finally have some open space. As a type-A person, I tend to overthink things and perhaps even perseverate at times. During times when I attempted to do "meditation properly," I found it difficult to clear my mind, but suddenly, I found a task that allowed that space to open naturally. I appreciated this experience much more than I ever realized I would. Looking back 15 years later, it moves me to think how important our educational backgrounds are, not just for the clinical skills we learn, but for the things we know about ourselves along the way.
I still tell people about this experience, and when I train social work interns, I make sure to share with them that self-care is not a one-size-fits-all approach. I hope for my fellow case managers that we each find what works for us, and that we do not feel shame if we are "not good at" meditation, journaling, or whatever we think we "should" be doing for self-care.
These days, with young children in tow, I find it more difficult to find time to really settle into a good recipe. Cooking has shifted to a chore in my life, something to get done as quickly as possible to get something ready to feed the kids by 6 p.m.. There is no shame in this either! We all have different "seasons" in life, and the current season for me and my husband is the what-can-we-get-on-the-table-quickly? Season. I know that someday, time will allow for more of my meditative cooking time, and I see that happening more and more each day as my kids start to enjoy cooking alongside me.
Until cooking transforms back into a self-care activity for me, I have found other cooking-adjacent things that also allow for my mind to have that open space. I collect antique cookbooks, poring over recipes from the early 1900s and pictures of place-settings arranged for 1950s homemakers to set with ease. The history of food and serving food in homes draws me in for a similar reason as social work drew me in as a profession: it is about understanding people and how they live their lives. I love imagining families and how cooking brought them together in different historical contexts.
As we acknowledge the many accomplishments that social workers contribute to the field of case management, we know that to stay in this field, we must mind the adage to "take care of ourselves." Some days, that is harder for me than others, and I wish for all of us to find that connection to self-care that works for each of us as individuals. Stop by if you need a cooking magazine from 1908 and I'll be happy to share!
Join the CMSA Foundation this month as the celebrate the unwavering dedication of case managers who are shaping the future of healthcare. Together, we can champion initiatives that drive education, advocacy, and innovation in the field, inspiring action and encouraging healthcare professionals and supporters to contribute through donations, awareness campaigns, and sharing success stories. By investing in the future of case management today, we ensure that case managers are equipped to lead in an ever-evolving healthcare landscape. Join the Foundation in making a difference and shaping the future of healthcare. Visit www.cmsafoundation.org/cmsafmonth to participate in this month's activities.
Bio: Ruth D. Grenoble, AM, LCSW, CCM is a social worker in Denver, Colorado. Ruth received her Master of Arts in Clinical Social Work from University of Chicago in 2010 and her Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from Colorado College in 2008. She has a clinical background in rehab and medical social work, and has worked for both government and private sector hospitals, primarily serving individuals with a history of spinal cord injury and brain injury. Additionally, Ruth has served in regional leadership roles overseeing and training staff on standards of practice for case management. Ruth is a strong advocate for integrating theory and ethics into direct practice.