Self-Care for Journalists 101

Education reporters, like everyone else, are struggling to cope with the stress and many day-to-day challenges of life during a pandemic. At the same time, they’re working hard under difficult conditions to chronicle the impact on students, schools and families and pitching in on broader coverage for their newsrooms. What do journalists need to know about protecting their mental health and physical well-being during this challenging time?

Kimina Lyall, the deputy director of the Dart Center Asia Pacific, a project of the Columbia Journalism School, shares insights from her 15-year reporting career, which includes covering mass shooting events and surviving the 2004 tsunami in Thailand. Now in the final stage of her training to be a psychologist in her hometown near Melbourne, Australia, Lyall shares strategies for handling challenging assignments, how to set healthy boundaries — especially when working remotely — and how to recognize signs that someone might need additional help or support.