Phil Castle, The Business Times

Sydney Elks relishes the opportunity to help those who help others — among them health care providers, social workers and law enforcement officers who sometimes struggle to cope with the stress they endure.

Moreover, the benefits of teaching those Elks considers the best and brightest to develop resilience extends to the broader community. “It’s about sustainability.”

Elks, a counselor in private practice in Grand Junction, helped develop and continues to facilitate a program to help participants build resilience.

An upcoming presentation is set for Feb. 1 to May 24 at the Counseling & Education Center in Grand Junction. Sessions are scheduled for 1 to 4:30 p.m. every other Wednesday. Thanks to grants, the program is available for $450.

Elks helped start the program in 2018 as a day-long event, but expanded it to a longer format. She’ll join with Dr. Karin Lee Hughes, a physician counselor in Grand Junction, to present the upcoming course.

The program is open to those working in such fields as health care, social services and law enforcement as well as animal welfare, environmental conservation and education. But Elks said the strategies and tools also apply to those in all types of businesses and organizations.

Many people who work with and help others face emotional, mental and physical stress, Elks said. That stress can cause problems in work, personal and family lives, including fatigue and ultimately burnout. Problems have become even more pronounced in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, she said.

The symptoms of stress vary, but can include anxiety, insomnia, irritability and a feeling of numbness, Elks said. “We’re all impaired differently.”

There’s an expectation people should endure — to pull themselves up by their proverbial bootstraps. It’s important to realize, though, those symptoms are a natural reaction to stress, and people should have compassion for themselves and others, she said. “We don’t get mad when people catch a cold.”

The resilience program offers a combination of instruction and activities designed to help participants identify the effects of stress and learn and practice skills to respond to stress, Elks said. Those skills can include something a simple as slowing breathing to promote calm.

The program also teaches participants to develop strategies to address compassion fatigue and vicarious trauma as well promote work satisfaction, she said. In addition, participants learn lifestyle changes that help them regulate emotions, improve relationships and develop a deeper sense of well-being.

The program offers broader benefits, Elks said, in enabling professionals to continue to play important roles in the community. “We can’t afford to lose valuable professionals.”

The Resilience for Professionals program is set for 1 to 4:30 p.m. every other Wednesday Feb. 1 to May 24 at the Counseling & Education Center located at  2708 Patterson Road in Grand Junction. Tuition is $450. For more information, call (970) 462-7188  or log on to RESILIENCE23.eventbrite.com.