Understanding and Addressing Compassion Fatigue (VA FARMS)

Wednesday, November 10, 2021 (1:00-4:00pm)

Online/Zoom

Ann Marie Roepke, Ph.D.

Every profession has its own risks and hazards: Healthcare workers may be exposed to infectious diseases, construction workers may be hurt in an accident or fall, and computer programmers may get repetitive stress injuries from too much typing. Those of us in the “helping professions” face unique occupational hazards that arise from working to alleviate the suffering of other people. Compassion fatigue and secondary traumatic stress (STS) can happen to helpers who are indirectly exposed to trauma through those they serve (e.g., by listening to painful memories and stories): our work can lead to tension/anxiety, preoccupation with our clients and their trauma, avoidance, emotional numbness, and difficulties in areas like trust, safety, control, and hopefulness for the future. Fortunately, there are things that we can do for ourselves (and each other) to address the potential “costs of caring” – beginning with being aware of them. In this 3-hour training, we will explore what compassion fatigue is, why it happens, how to prevent it, and how to address it.

Training participants will have the opportunity to learn in a variety of ways including lecture, demonstrations/videos, discussions, and experiential learning activities designed to give them a richer understanding of compassion fatigue.

Note: this training is provided as information and education, and is not intended as therapy, healthcare, medical advice, or a doctor-patient relationship; if you have questions about how your work or your own experiences of trauma or stress may be impacting you, please consult your healthcare provider.

Learning Objectives: At the end of this training participants will be able to:

1. Define compassion fatigue 
2. Describe how working in the ‘helping professions’ can increase the risk of compassion fatigue
3. List three ways to prevent compassion fatigue
4. Describe one approach to addressing compassion fatigue once it has happened

***A Zoom link for this training will be included in the registration confirmation email***