Indraloka Tackles Alarming Burnout Among Mental Health Professionals Burnout among mental health professionals in the United States is alarmingly high, affecting the well-being of those tasked with supporting our most vulnerable populations. A systematic review and meta-analysis of 62 studies found that approximately 40% of mental health professionals experience significant emotional exhaustion, 22% suffer from depersonalization, and 19% report low levels of personal accomplishment (O’Connor et al, 2018). The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated these issues, with a pooled prevalence of burnout among medical staff, including mental health professionals, at 43.6% (Zhu, et al, 2023). This crisis in well-being directly impacts the quality of care provided to those in need. Guidance counselors helping children and teens navigate post-pandemic classrooms face greater challenges than ever. Counselors often have heavy caseloads that require balancing administrative tasks, meetings, parental participation, and one-on-one counseling with tight schedules. High school students turn to counselors for college and career guidance and help with managing personal crises. Diversity among the student population demands that counselors have extraordinary cultural sensitivity. On top of that, educators are dealing with a growing number of students who have anxiety, depression, and other mental health concerns. Counselors need help and specialized training. Indraloka’s “Resilient Counselors Mastery Series,” a six-week program designed to empower public school guidance counselors to build personal resources and resilience to take on the additional challenges of their jobs, launched this summer in partnership with the Scranton School District through the Scranton Area Foundation’s Center for Nonprofit Excellence and Community Leadership. The program combines onsite retreats, virtual sessions, and holistic health practices that build resilience, foster wellbeing, and enhance leadership skills. Grounded in cutting-edge research on recovering from vicarious trauma and building resilience, Indraloka’s Resilient Counselor’s Mastery Series has already demonstrated success, with participants reporting significant gains in their professional and personal well-being through the scientifically validated PROQuol (Professional Quality of Life Indicator—a well-established and validated tool): 12.8% increase in Compassion Satisfaction 8% reduction in Burnout 6% decrease in Compassion Fatigue “Every day, these dedicated counselors pour their heart and care into guiding our children, and we are proud to stand alongside them in this essential endeavor. The Resilient Counselors Mastery Series is a testament to the deep commitment of the Scranton School District, and the Center for Nonprofit Excellence and Community Leadership of the Scranton Area Foundation, to fostering a supportive and trauma-informed environment for our students,” said Indraloka founder Indra Lahiri, PhD. “Their investment in this initiative underscores the critical importance of equipping our guidance counselors with the tools and resilience they need to continue their vital work.” Although everyone is facing their own set of circumstances, one thing is certain — everyone today is dealing with trauma on some level. Understanding how trauma manifests and how to build resilience to it through trauma-informed practices helps counselors serve students better while taking care of themselves too. Counselors often give of themselves to their own detriment. It’s part of the personality of those who devote their lives to helping others. But giving from an empty cup can leave counselors critically depleted and cause a host of physical, mental, and emotional stresses. The Resilient Counselors Mastery Series helps counselors create self-care practices that rebuild their internal resources. To launch the program, Dr. Lahiri facilitated a five-hour retreat at the sanctuary and introduced participants to trauma-informed care principles and resilience-building techniques. They spent time relaxing with Indraloka’s rescued gentle farm animals and used journaling and interactive activities to promote empathy and relaxation. A qigong session demonstrated slow, mindful movement that helps restore energy and alleviate difficult emotions. “The animal sanctuary offers a welcoming space to relax and rejuvenate. Though many of us are familiar with the concepts of resiliency, self-care, and trauma-informed practices, Indra presents them in a novel way, through the lens of animal rescue and care farming,” enthused Elizabeth Hemphill, Supervisor of Mental Health Programs for the Scranton School District. “Meeting the animals and hearing their stories facilitated dialogue about the numerous ways we can care for ourselves and each other. Indra is a thoughtful and engaging presenter. She created the opportunity for us to explore new forms of self-care that we are excited to share with our colleagues and students.” Indraloka emphasizes a holistic approach to building resilience. Led by Dr. Lahiri, an organizational psychologist who has been studying trauma-informed practices for well over a decade, the program incorporates long-established practices with the latest science on overcoming trauma. The result is participants feel empowered to confidently face challenges while learning to build support systems they can rely on. Instead of feeling depleted by the demands of their jobs, they know they have the tools to deal with difficult situations. The “Resilient Counselors Mastery Series” is part of Indraloka Connects: Insight to Action, a groundbreaking consulting service designed to foster resilience, inclusion, and trauma-informed excellence in organizations. Indraloka offers employers unique experiences, including access to our sanctuary, team-building workshops with rescued animals, and a six-month leadership mastery program. Our services also include cultural transformation audits, resilient leader roundtables, and the creation of resilience councils to guide lasting, positive change. In addition to “Indraloka Connects” and the “Resilient Counselors Mastery Series,” Indraloka provides other much-needed help to the community. The NEPA Rescue Veterinary Clinic at Indraloka offers low-cost veterinary services to income-qualified households and low-cost neutering and spaying to all households. The clinic also offers low-cost veterinary services to other area rescues and shelters that are members of the NEPA Animal Welfare Collaborative. What started as a one-person sanctuary that primarily rescued horses on a small farm in Bucks County, PA, has turned into a sanctuary that cares for more than 200 animals of 15 different species, with thousands of annual visitors. Indraloka hosts children’s day camps, music, art, and reading programs, public tours and events, and workshops throughout the year. The new mental health care programming will help create a healthier community where everyone has the opportunity to thrive. Dr. Lahiri is available for interviews.
The University of Scranton to Host Conference on Disability The 23rd Annual U.S. Conference on Disability focuses on access, advocacy and employment in the age of artificial intelligence. Danté Q. Allen, the commissioner of the U.S. Rehabilitation Services Administration in the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, will be the featured speaker at the 23rd Annual U.S. Conference on Disability at The University of Scranton on Oct. 9. The day-long conference will feature nationally respected speakers addressing access, advocacy and employment in the age of artificial intelligence. The 23rd Annual U.S. Conference on Disability at The University of Scranton, “The Rehabilitation Act: Learning From Our Past, Knowing Our Present, and Building Our Future,” will feature nationally respected speakers addressing access, advocacy and employment in the age of artificial intelligence, including Danté Q. Allen, the commissioner of the U.S. Rehabilitation Services Administration in the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services. Registration is required to attend the conference, which begins at 8:30 a.m. on Oct. 9 and is offered free of charge. Also speaking at the conference will be Alison Levy, director of the Office of Technical and Information Services at the U.S. Access Board; Kathy West-Evans, director of business relations for the National Employment Team of the Council of State Administrators of Vocational Rehabilitation; John Evans, recently retired Vocational Rehabilitation program administrator for employee relations for the State of Washington Department Social Health Services Division of Vocational Rehabilitation; Gary Karp disability awareness speaker, trainer, consultant and author of “Life On Wheels: For the Active Wheelchair User,” among other notable speakers. The annual conference seeks to educate and enhance the lives of individuals with disabilities and their families. The theme for this year’s conference is “The Rehabilitation Act: Learning From Our Past, Knowing Our Present, and Building Our Future.” Commissioner Allen will speak at the opening session of the conference, which begins at 8:30 a.m. in the McIlhenny Ballroom of the DeNaples Center on campus. Allen oversees the Rehabilitation Services Administration that provides leadership and resources to assist state and other agencies in providing vocational rehabilitation and other services to individuals with disabilities to maximize their employment, independence and integration into the community and the competitive labor market. Born with Spina bifida, Allen is a fulltime wheelchair user, and a staunch proponent of disability rights and equity. He has been a champion in advocating for the awareness of the reduction of healthcare and financial disparities especially among people of color and people with disabilities. He serves as a board member for Resources for Independent Living, Sacramento, a nonprofit that supports the needs of people with disabilities to live as independently as possible. Levy will speak at 10:15 a.m. As a person with disabilities, and with over 30 years of experience in the disability profession, Levy has worked toward improving workplace attitudes and accessibility, and in providing equal opportunity in the post-secondary, public and private sectors. Created in 1973 to ensure access to federally funded facilities, the Access Board, where she serves, is an independent federal agency that promotes equality for people with disabilities through leadership in accessible design and the development of accessibility guidelines and standards. The agency also provides technical assistance and training on requirements and on accessible design. Kathy West-Evans and John Evans will speak together at the session beginning at 1:30 p.m. West-Evans plays a leadership role with the National Employment Team, a cross-state team of vocational rehabilitation business specialists working through a dual customer approach to develop strategies with business (private, public, and non-profit) to employ and retain the talents of individuals with disabilities across the company or organization. She is a past chair of the Veterans Advisory Council on Rehabilitation and a former commissioner on the Commission on Rehabilitation Counselor Certification. She is a frequent speaker and has co-authored articles focused on working with business to employ the talents of individuals with disabilities. Born with profound congenital deafness, Evans spent 31 years of public service in the fields of vocational rehabilitation; labor relations; human resource development; disability integration; and the employment of people with disabilities in the workplace. The closing session, which begins at 3 p.m., will feature Karp, whose spinal cord was injured from falling from a tree when he was 18 years old. The author of four books, Karp’s early career was in computer graphics and he later established an ergonomics consultancy. In 2007, he was inducted into the Spinal Cord Injury Hall of Fame as a disability educator. He was sponsored by the Christopher and Dana Reeve Paralysis Resource Center to speak at rehabilitation centers and to college students across the United States. Most recently, Karp has been an emergency manager and trainer, and currently serves as a reservist for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, through which he was deployed to multiple disasters to help people with disabilities access recovery resources and assistance. The Conference on Disability will open at 8:30 a.m. with remarks from University of Scranton President Rev. Joseph G. Marina, S.J.; Victoria Castellanos, Ph.D.,Dean of the University’s Leahy College of Health Sciences; and Edward R. and Patricia Leahy, honorary conference co-chairs, followed by remarks by Allen. Kathy Stefanelli, Ph.D., assistant professor of counseling and human services at The University of Scranton, will also speak at the conference, during the 11:30 a.m. session, and Renée Hakim, Ph.D., professor chair and program director of physical therapy at the University, will discuss “Advances in Rehabilitation Technology to Improve Human Mobility.” A noon luncheon will include an award ceremony and tribute to the late Ralph N. Pacinelli, Ed.D., a lifelong leader in vocational rehabilitation. The conference, which is presented by the University’s Leahy College of Health Sciences and the Edward R. Leahy Jr. Endowment, is free of charge and open to the general public. However, registration is required. Continuing education credits are also offered for some sessions. More detailed information and registration can be found on the disAbility Conference website. For additional questions, contact conference co-chairs Rebecca Dalgin, Ph.D., professor and chair of the University’s Department of Counseling and Human Services, at Rebecca.dalgin@scranton.edu or Lori Bruch, Ed.D, associate professor and faculty fellow, Office of the Provost, at lori.bruch@scranton.edu.
