1. Compassion Fatigue Taking care of self while caring for others
Yvonne Simpson, MA, CFE
King County 2-1-1, Seattle

2. Training outcomes
Recognize the stages, causes, symptoms, and consequences of compassion fatigue
Identify your level of compassion fatigue
Determine the most effective self-care strategies for yourself
Create a plan so you can continue to do your work in a sustainable way.

3. The human experience

4. Definitions Compassion Fatigue (Secondary traumatic stress disorder)
Burnout
Vicarious Trauma

5. Compassion Fatigue
It is often an occupational hazard for those working in helping professions.
It is NOT a reflection of the helper’s inadequacy.
It does NOT indicate the toxicity or “badness” of a client.

6. Stages of compassion fatigue
Zealot
Irritability
Withdrawal
Zombie

7. Common causes Serving in a “helping capacity”
Repeatedly experiencing needs
Doing more with less ($, options, time, etc.)
Manipulation by those that you serve
Extraordinary circumstances
Your personal life
Measuring Life Stress

8. Stressors
Healthy, useful
Chronic, detrimental

9. Physiological effects of stress
Autonomic Nervous System
Regulates functions of our internal organs
Two main subsystems:
Sympathetic
Parasympathetic

10. Sympathetic nervous system
Adrenaline increase
Blood (oxygen, nutrients) diverted to large muscles
Five senses heightened
“Fight or flight”

11. Parasympathetic system
Conserves energy
Dilates vessels
Relaxes muscles
“Rest and Renew”

12. Effects of chronic stress
Cardiovascular disease
Decreased immunity
Pain
Mental health

13. How do you react to stress?
How vulnerable are you to stress?

14. Other consequences of stress
Impulsive behaviors
Poor inter-personal communication
Work performance suffers
Apathy, avoidance

15. Workplace toxicity A common consequence of compassion fatigue
Leads to negative ruts
Turning on each other rather than collaborating for change

16. Share a time when you mentally took your work home with you or your work caused symptoms of compassion fatigue.

17. PROQoL
Professional Quality of Life Scale Measures compassion satisfaction, burnout, and secondary traumatic stress Available free on-line at

18. The remedy: Self-care issue of needs (not desires or preferences)
Isn’t it selfish? No, it is an
issue of needs (not desires
or preferences)
You are only able to serve others to the degree to which you are physically and emotionally healthy.
“First do no harm”
Primum non nocere; checking your basic needs

19. Process the stress Intentionality “metabolizing the things
we bear witness to”
(van Dernoot Lipsky)
Be willing to engage the stress

20. Finding balance What do you value? What can you control?
Is there any one change that you can make?
What is my plan if nothing outside of me changes?

21. Identifying triggers Reflect: What are your triggers?
Why do they affect you?
Are the situations that you face triggering past experiences or emotions?
What can you do to help yourself heal from the past?

22. Boundaries

23. Share one tangible boundary that you can set to intentionally separate yourself from that which stresses you.

24. Work  Home transition Create a practice to leave work stress at work
Ritual
Imagery
Intentional action

25. Healthy outlets for stress
Self-awareness
Grief
Talking it out
Working it out
Play!

26. Support system Workplace vs. home life support systems
Relational poverty
Low-impact debriefing

27. Toxic  Supportive Workplace
Brainstorming conversations
Current office climate
Do we need to consider getting help from a professional team outside of our agency to help us?
How can we ensure improvement over the long-run?

28. Kindness
“People who love themselves come across as very loving, generous and kind; they express their self-confidence through humility, forgiveness and inclusiveness.”
It is first necessary to think, speak, and act kindly towards yourself. How often do you beat yourself up mentally?
Self-compassion exercises

29. Gratitude Thank you! Make a practice of receiving from others
Consciously note good things that happen
Name five things that purely bring you joy.
What was the last thing that made you laugh out loud?

30. Focus Active listening Why multi-tasking doesn’t work
Mindful relaxation/body awareness

31. How do you put this information to use?
Growth goals and maintenance goals
Professional goals and personal goals
Based on your life priorities
Accountability “buddy”

32. Is this still the right place for you?
Satisfaction
Connect with the rewards of the work you do
Why did you choose this field in the first place?
Name one aspect of the work that you find rewarding.
Is this still the right place for you?

33. The Stockdale Paradox and at the same time
You must maintain unwavering faith that you can and will prevail in the end, regardless of the difficulties,
and at the same time
have the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be.

34. Questions?

35. Resources
Compassion Fatigue Awareness Project,
Figley, Charles (1995) Compassion Fatigue: Secondary Traumatic Stress Disorders in Those Who Treat the Traumatized
Green Cross Academy of Traumatology,

36. Resources
Mathieu, Francoise (2011) The Compassion Fatigue Workbook: Creative Tools for Transforming Compassion Fatigue and Vicarious Trauma
Saakvitne, Karen (1996) Transforming the Pain: A Workbook on Vicarious Traumatization
Van Dernoot Lipsky, Laura (2009) Trauma Stewardship: An Everyday Guide to Caring for Self While Caring for Others