BELFAST — Registration is open for an online professional development program, Self-Care for Professionals, offered Aug. 4 –5, through the University of Maine Hutchinson Center in Belfast. The two-day online program runs from 4 - 6 p.m., via Zoom.

The cost is $95 per person and need-based scholarships are available. More information is available on the Hutchinson Center website.

Professionals need care and support to prevent burnout. Participants in this program will develop strategies and share resilience and hardiness skills. Using cognitive therapy methods, positive psychology and conflict resolution, participants will gain insight and develop empathy for themselves and others.

Frontline healthcare workers, educators, social workers and administrators are among the many professional groups who will benefit from participating in this program, according to the Hutchinson Center, in a news release.

“Among the many lessons of the past year and a half is the need to think more holistically about ourselves, our employees, our supervisors and our patients, customers or the people we serve,” said the Center. “Focusing on self-care is a tangible way to support our ability as individuals, community members, and professionals to flourish and thrive.”

Instructor Wendy Rapaport (L.C.S.W., M.S.W., Psy.D.) is a licensed clinical psychologist on the faculty at the University of Miami School of Medicine Diabetes Research Institute and the UMaine School of Social Work. She also is in private practice in Boca Raton, Florida, and has specialized in individual, marital, family and group therapy for 40 years. A professional writer, Rapaport has published more than 65 articles and lectures nationwide.

Participants will earn a UMaine certificate of completion and 0.4 CEUs/4 contact hours are available.

For more information or to request a reasonable accommodation, contact Michelle Patten, um.fhc.pd@maine.edu; 207.338.8002. For information about other upcoming professional development programs or to register, go online. Early registration is recommended as spots are limited. A limited number of need-based scholarships are available for people who live or work in Knox or Waldo counties.

About the Hutchinson Center:

The Hutchinson Center is an outreach center for the University of Maine in Orono that serves as an educational and cultural center for the midcoast area. It is named for University of Maine President Emeritus Frederick E. Hutchinson. The mission of the Hutchinson Center is to broaden access to University of Maine academic and non-degree programs and services, lifelong learning opportunities, and professional and career development experiences using innovative approaches that increase synergy among University of Maine System entities, University of Maine departments and divisions, and that engage a wider Maine community. 

About the University of Maine: 

The University of Maine, founded in Orono in 1865, is the state's land grant, sea grant and space grant university. It is located on Marsh Island in the homeland of the Penobscot Nation. As Maine's flagship public university, UMaine has a statewide mission of teaching, research and economic development, and community service. UMaine is the state's only public research university and among the most comprehensive higher education institutions in the Northeast. It attracts students from all 50 states and more than 75 countries. UMaine currently enrolls 11,741 undergraduate and graduate students who have opportunities to participate in groundbreaking research with world-class scholars. UMaine offers more than 100 degree programs through which students can earn master's, doctoral or professional science master's degrees, as well as graduate certificates. The university promotes environmental stewardship, with substantial efforts campuswide to conserve energy, recycle and adhere to green building standards in new construction. For more information about UMaine, visit umaine.edu.