Case Study: Sarah – Senior Social Worker in a Children’s Residential Home
Background:
Sarah is a 35-year-old senior social worker working in a residential home for vulnerable children aged 10–16. She’s deeply committed to her role and has spent over 12 years in the care sector. Her days are filled with emotionally intense situations — from safeguarding meetings and behavioural incidents to managing the trauma responses of the children she supports.
Outside of work, Sarah is a mum of two and often feels the weight of her job bleeding into her home life. She struggles to switch off, regularly loses sleep worrying about the children at work, and admits she’s running on autopilot. While she loves what she does, she’s burnt out, and her own wellbeing has taken a back seat.
How the Cloud9 Course Helped
🌱 Week 1–2: Self-Awareness & Boundaries
Sarah began recognising her warning signs of emotional exhaustion and learned to set firmer mental boundaries between work and home. She used practical journaling prompts from the course to decompress after difficult shifts, helping her stop replaying tough situations once she got home.
💤 Week 3–4: Sleep, Nutrition & Shift Recovery
She implemented the “wind-down routine” and started batch-prepping meals that kept her energised throughout long shifts. Her sleep improved significantly, especially on nights where she would have previously laid awake feeling overstimulated.
🧠 Week 5–6: Stress Management & Emotional Regulation
The stress management techniques — especially breathing and reframing strategies — helped her feel calmer during crises at work. Instead of feeling like everything was her responsibility to fix, she began responding from a grounded place, not a reactive one.
🏡 Week 7–8: Reconnection & Personal Fulfilment
Sarah reconnected with parts of herself she hadn’t nurtured in years — enjoying a morning walk again, scheduling time with her kids without feeling emotionally drained, and remembering why she chose the job in the first place. She no longer felt like she was simply surviving her week.
Results for Sarah
✅ Fewer sick days — no longer using annual leave to “recover” from burnout
✅ More emotional stability at work and at home
✅ Better sleep, more energy, improved diet
✅ Reduced guilt and better separation between work/home life
✅ Stronger boundaries, healthier mindset, and improved morale
Results for the Children in Her Care
💬 “She seems calmer and like she’s really listening to us.”
💡 Sarah’s improved emotional regulation led to fewer escalated behaviours — her presence became a stabilising force in the home.
🤝 Trust increased between Sarah and the young people, who picked up on her renewed patience and positivity.
🧠 Her clearer headspace meant better decisions around safeguarding and care planning — with more empathy, less overwhelm.
🧘♀️ Sarah even began modelling some of the course’s stress-relief techniques with the children during group time, teaching them simple ways to calm down and reflect.
Conclusion
The Cloud9 Wellbeing Course helped Sarah regain her sense of self — not just as a social worker, but as a person. By equipping her with the tools to manage stress, prioritise her health, and set healthy boundaries, it improved her ability to show up for both her family and the children in her care.
When care staff thrive, the whole system benefits — especially those who need it most.