Cyc Case Study

Challenges for CYC – Power Struggles, Cultural and Identity Diversity In accordance to abiding by child and youth care principles, the child and youth care worker must constantly keep their emotions in check, especially if sensitive topics come up or if the child’s experiences relate to one of their own. The emotional intensity felt in a live-in family situation feels a lot more ‘close to home’, especially the more involved the care worker is with the family. CYCs in this sector may be in interpersonal conflict with adults in the setting more than any other milieu, because they are living in or working within close contact to the home (Dimitoff, 2000). If the parents feel helpless, hopeless or angry, these emotions can surface and be directed at the care worker. The parents may try to attack the care worker, and the care worker must maintain professional etiquette and emotional regulation even if their instinct is to react (Dimitoff, 2000). The child and youth care worker must be comfortable with emotion – their own, the child’s as well as the child’s family.

In particular, resistance is a prominent issue for child and youth workers in family care (Lim & Kim, 2014). Blame can easily occur and child and youth care worker must recognize that resistance is the natural response and defense

Without self-care, the child and youth care worker can easily succumb to stress. Stress leads to poorer work performance, lower emotional regulation, less self-awareness, weakened physical and emotional health, and puts the clients at risk if the care worker isn’t taking care of themselves. In order to provide adequate and quality care to others, the child and youth care worker needs to take care of themselves. One of the biggest issues that can come up is if a practitioner neglects their own care and burns out (Stanley,