Community Wellness Check-in

Virtual Community Wellness Check-in
Presented by the NASW Freelance Committee
Date: Wednesday, March 19
Start Time: 1 p.m. Eastern / 10 a.m. Pacific
Event Access Link: https://www.nasw.org/virtual-events-auditorium (NASW member login required)

In response to the myriad of mental health and career challenges that science communicators are currently facing, NASW is launching a new series of unstructured, very informal socials where you can share in a safe space. Drop in and visit for as long as you can, when you can. All NASW members are invited. These socials will not be recorded.

While the agreements below are intended to foster a safe space, what participants choose to disclose is up to them. Participants are encouraged to talk as openly as they would like about their scicomm careers and mental health. Given the suggested topic, participants should expect exposure to conversation that is a little more personal and private than everyday conversation among colleagues. Unless a participant gives explicit consent, whatever is said in the meeting must not leave the meeting.

The first of these Community Wellness Check-ins will be on Wednesday, March 19, at 10 a.m. Pacific. Future dates tentatively include Wednesdays May 21, July 16, September 17, and November 19.

#SciWriThrive

Agreements and privacy

In addition to abiding by NASW's Code of Conduct, all participants agree to abide by these principles in order to create a space of solidarity and support:

• Every participant has an equal voice and responsibility. Everyone should have a chance to share.
• No one person should monopolize the group or the time.
• Every participant strives to be an active listener, offering compassion and encouragement and speaking from a place of care.
• Every participant strives to be non-judgmental, encouraging, and supportive. Participants must not engage in biased, demeaning, intimidating, coercive, or harassing/hostile conduct or commentary, whether seriously or in jest (e.g., based on power differential, gender [sex, identity, expression], sexual orientation, race, ethnicity or national origin, religion, marital status, veteran status, age, body size or other physical appearance, disability, socioeconomic status, or other identities); Do not comment on personal appearance or assumed or known reasons why a person chooses to participate via video, audio, or other means—seriously or in jest; this is the opposite of respectful and welcoming conduct.
• Every participant must respect the privacy of all participants by keeping the identities of all participants and the content of all discussions in the forum in strict confidence. What is said in the network must stay there. No recording or screenshots are permitted.
• Participants agree not to share Zoom links or access instructions.
• Participants agree that whatever is said in a meeting will not be used as information to influence their or their co-workers’ or colleagues’ decision to hire, work with, or otherwise impact their or their co-workers’ or colleagues’ professional relationship with another participant.
• Every participant understands that NASW is a 501c6 non-profit. By participating in the network, forum, discussions, or meetings, participants are agreeing to waive all claims against the officers, board, and facilitators of the group.

Limitations and additional resources

This event aims to serve as a member-run space for finding solidarity in the professional and personal challenges we share. This can include sharing mental health challenges without having to explain their complexities and depth. While sharing of mental health challenges is warmly welcomed, NASW’s network is an informal peer network, not group therapy. It is not run by doctors, mental health professionals, or trained facilitators and is not intended to be a substitute for therapy (etc. etc.). We encourage participants to use the resources below to explore therapy or other forms of professional help as needed. If you have thoughts of harming yourself or others, please contact a doctor immediately and/or contact:

988lifeline.org
or
Dial or text 988 (Available in 240 languages within the United States)

Additional resources for mental health support, many of which are specific to media, can be found at the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma. This re-cap of the October 2020 ScienceWriters session "Taking care of yourself" has some tips and links to additional resources, as well.