Compassion Fatigue Solutions

I apologise for the longish silence but I have been busy writing up a report for an agency. I can now return to posting weekly as is my goal.

I invite you to visit the Compassion Fatigue Awareness Project: www.compassionfatigue.org and browse through the resources available. The web site has, in particular, good resources for animal care workers (click on Resources to find links and articles.)

---

On Managers and Compassion Fatigue

Supervisors and managers who work in the helping fields end up in a tough spot: Most of the management staff I have met over the years are extremely concerned about the wellbeing of their employees and feel stuck between their staff's needs (for a reduced workload, for policies that allow for more flexibility in the schedule, for concrete actions that recognise the reality of compassion fatigue in the workplace) and the need to ensure that service delivery continues and that client needs are met.

I have lost count of the times I have had a manager, almost in tears, come to me at the end of a workshop and say: "How do we, the managers, juggle it all? How do we care for our staff without burning out ourselves?"

The answer, of course, isn't simple, but there are some strategies that can help. This was my motivation in bringing Dr Pat Fisher to present a two day course for Managers in Kingston in May. I will be carrying out an interview with Pat Fisher in the weeks to come, so come back if you are curious to know more. And if you live near Kingston, do consider enrolling for the course. It will be an extremely valuable two day workshop specifically designed for managers and supervisors.

Now, in terms of what I'm up to today, I'm going to play badminton with kids this afternoon, and then I will likely not be able to resist watching part of the Oscars before falling asleep (those long boring speeches where everyone thanks their lawyer, stylist and publicist, yawn. Why not take this opportunity to advocate for a charitable cause? Maybe one of the winners will do just that tonight and surprise us).

Next week is the Train the Trainer workshop which I am very much looking forward to as it's an opportunity to work for two days with a small group of dedicated helpers from highly varied backgrounds. This time around, there are psychologists, family doctors, nurses, social workers and counsellors from a wide range of agencies such as hospitals, veterans affairs, public health, children's services and other community agencies. If you are interested in this training programme, please note that the June session is already half full.

Hope you have a good week!