PROTECTING THE CAREER PRACTITIONER FROM COMPASSION FATIGUE

AND BURNOUT

Wellness Works

Based on the work of Charles Figler and Francoise Mathieu

The compassion Fatigue workbookWebinar : Walking the Walk

Are compassion fatigue and burnout inevitable consequences of our work?

“The expectation that we can be immersed in suffering and loss daily and not be touched by it is as unrealistic as expecting to be able to walk through water without getting wet.

This sort of denial is no small matter. The way we deal with loss shapes our capacity to be present to life more than anything else. The way we protect ourselves form loss may be the way in which we distance ourselves from life. We burn not because we don’t care but because we don’t grieve. We burn out because we’ve allowed our hearts to become so filled with loss that we have no room left to care. Rachel Naomi Remen, Kitchen Table Wisdom, 1996

Our Caring Profession

THE GOOD Helping people meet goals Matching the seeker to the

job Knowing people change their

lives for the better Honouring their trust Motivating with hope Making a difference for my

community Meeting the needs of our

employers Working for our future Helping people get the tools

they need to move forward

THE BAD Administration and record

keeping Funders’ data bases Government bureaucracy, politics Lack of control over budgets Having to meet outcomes that

don’t match the needs of the folks Never having enough time Can’t meet all the needs Little PD Few places to refer for further

help, mental health, financial, literacy

Internet job search process Employers’ Hiring practices

Compassion Fatigue Burnout

Related to caring about, taking care of, or exposure to trauma victims and others in need

Created by caring about the suffering of others

Try to continue to give of themselves and feel as though they have failed at their profession

Gradual erosion of all the things that keep us connected to others in our caregiver role: empathy, our hope, and our compassion, for others and ourselves

Can result from any type of stress in any kind of setting

Low job satisfaction from feeling powerless and overwhelmed at work

Our view of the world has not been damaged changed in a negative way

Experience emotional withdrawal and diminished empathy

Still retain the ability to feel compassion for others

Makes us more vulnerable to CF

The Ugly

Compassion Fatigue is:

The profound emotional and physical erosion that takes place when helpers are unable to refuel and regenerate

A secondary traumatic stress disorderA set of symptoms, not a diseaseCan lead to a wide range of destructive or unproductive behaviors

When I have CF I am:

Over-reactiveUnprofessionalHaving a saviour complexOverly invested in the outcomes and people Angry, unable to focus, no patience for my

clients or family membersA ‘cranky fusspot’‘No matter how much I do at work, I can’t do

enough to really make a difference’.

Sound Familiar?

Bottled up emotionsImpulse to rescue anyone in needIsolated from othersSadness, apathyOften feel the need to voice excessive complaints

about co workers and or management, increasing bitterness about work

Violate client boundaries, lack of respect of clientsIntense psychological distress at exposure to cues

that symbolize or resemble an aspect of the traumatic event

Symptoms, continued

Lack of interest in self – care practicesReoccurring nightmares/flashbacksPersistent physical ailments such as allergies,

colds, gastrointestinal problemsLatenessDifficulty concentrating, mentally tiredForgetfulnessAccident prone and error prone, judgment suffersHyper vigilance and exaggerated startle response

What Causes Compassion Fatigue?

Placing the needs of others firstContinual exposure to sad or traumatic

stories or eventsUnresolved past trauma and painLack of healthy professional skillsLack of self awareness that limits your

growth and potential

Causes - continued

Giving care to others who are under stressGiving care to others when you are burnt outLack of healthy life coping skillsLack of personal boundariesInability to communicate your own needs

The ‘Fatigued’ At Work:

Excessive amount of Worker’s Comp claims, stress leave

High absenteeismChanges in co-workers’ relationshipsInability for teams to work well togetherStaff challenges organizational rules and

regulationsAggressive behaviours between co-workers

and clientsInability of staff to complete assigned tasks

At Work - continued

Lack of flexibility with other staffConstant changes in organizational policiesRampant rumor and gossipUnhealthy competition between staff

membersIncreasingly negative work environmentSiege mentality

The Eventual Outcome?

Mental health issues, depression, stress leave

Social supports break down

Eventually in order to recover, you may have to leave the occupation completely!

Who Us? Really?

Over 60% of Career Practitioners surveyed in NS are mental health consumers themselves – depression and anxiety

Realities of our work – high paced, results oriented, negative economies, pressure and stress, little clout

Clients’ personal histories increasingly ‘traumatic’

Labour market pressures could create a moral dilemma, hiring practices incomplete or unethical

Ways to Reduce Compassion Fatigue

Strong social support both at home and workIncreased self awarenessGood self careBetter work/life balanceJob satisfactionRebalancing case load and workload reductionLimiting trauma inputsAccessing coaching, counseling, and good clinical

supervision as neededAttending regular professional development and

training

We Can defend Ourselves

Educate ourselves about CF , Burnout, and secondary trauma, vicarious trauma

Increase our self awareness of our warning signs, our feelings of overwhelm and vicarious trauma before we get to full blown ‘fatigue’

Build strategies to de-brief upsetting events in a low impact way. Decrease the ‘sliming

Vicarious Trauma in our work?

Vicarious trauma – occurs when the stories we hear from our clients transfer onto us in a way where we too are traumatized by the images and details, even though we did not experience them ourselves. We then find it difficult to rid ourselves of the images and experience they have shared with us.

Low Impact Debriefing – setting boundaries

What kind of conversation is this? Case conference, case consultation, work lunch, soccer game, party?

Is the listener aware that you are about to share graphic details?

Able to control the flow of what you are about to share with them?

If it is consultation or case conference has the listener been informed that it is a debriefing or are you sitting in their office chatting about your day

Have you given fair warning?How much detail is too much? How much do we need

to tell to be productive in our work?

We have choices ..

Reduce our ‘trauma load’ on a daily basisBecome aware of media enhanced disaster

‘porn’, violent crime dramas. Even the Weather Network can have a negative cumulative impact on your already overloaded day

Where do the stories we hear at work go at the end of the day?

Techniques

“Helpers who bear witness to many stories of abuse and violence notice that their own beliefs about the world are altered and possibly damaged by being repeatedly exposed to traumatic material” Transforming the pain p.49

Healthy teams make us stronger

Build strong support networks at work, supportive teams, strategic alliances:

No more Bitching, Moaning and Whining (BMW) -

Gossip adds dramatically to the negativity load

Commit to building your self esteem in healthy ways, not on the backs of others.

(‘Nurses eat their young’)

Better managed case/work loads

Pace and size of the case load make a huge difference to work satisfaction

Look for ways to manage this differently if possible

Build ‘micro breaks’ into our schedules ( mindfulness meditation) if nothing else

Work with Management to alter the work day in some way, part time , some other task one day a week

Are you in the Danger Zone?

Surveys and self tests canhelp you identify your current state of work and life satisfaction

Many tools to capture your current level of positivity, happiness, your values, your curiosity, anxiety can be found in The Compassion Fatigue Workbook or at

Authentic happiness .orgwww.positivityratio.org

Learn about and commit to better self care.

Take baby steps to make big changes beginPut your health firstSavour the positivity in your life, gratitude,

curiosity, applications from Positive Psychology research

Increase self compassionReconnect with the satisfaction with your

work

To Increase Personal Happiness

1. Work on positivity 2. Practice gratitude 2. ‘Three good things’ exercise 3. Use your strengths in novel ways 4. 15 minutes a day of doing nothing 5. Learn something new

Resources, Credits

Francoise MathieuThe Compassion Fatigue WorkbookWebinar -Walking the walk , creating CF

solutionsBlog, YouTube videos, websitePositivity -Barbara FredericksonMindfulness meditation -Jon Kabat Zinn Patricia Smith