Compassion Fatigue Solutions

"Practitioners Share their Most Effective Interventions: A collection of creative counselling techniques developed by practitioners from across North America" Edited by best-selling author Liana Lowenstein, available free of charge on her website.

photo from http://www.freedigitalphotos.net

You may already be familiar with the benefits of decluttering and simplifying your home and work environments. In the past few years there have been several popular TV shows and books on the topic (The show "Clean Sweep", Julie Morgenstern's book "Organizing from the Inside Out", Patrick Fannings "The 50 Best Ways to Simplify Your Life: Proven Techniques for Achieving Lasting Balance" to name a few.) which all argue that getting rid of clutter is a great way to take control over our health and reduce stress in both our home and work life.

Our environment impacts us in many different ways - working with a supportive, positive colleague can make a highly stressful and demanding work environment much easier. Being unable to find any of the forms you need in a messy office can turn a simple task into a very stressful, blood pressure elevating exercise.

I have experienced first hand the benefits of getting rid of clutter and getting organised: when my living space is organised, I feel calmer, more serene. But I also know that when life is hectic, I often don't have the time or energy to get organised and the vicious cycle settles in: too tired to put thing away where they belong, frustrated because I can't find what I need, too frazzled to look properly etc.

Therefore, I am always on the lookout for new simple strategies that can be easily woven into the life of a busy person who works full-time and has young children at home. Here are some simple suggestions and resources:

Five minutes to being clutter-free:

Put 5 minute decluttering activities in your day timer. Cleaning all the drawers in your kitchen likely feels like an overwhelming (and rather unappealling) task. But what about cleaning one drawer out? You could likely do that while talking on the phone with a friend. I often schedule simple 5 minute activities in my daytimer. Example from last week:
Monday: "throw 2 curtains in the wash"
Wednesday: "clean out 1 kitchen drawer"
Friday: "clean bathroom cabinet"
Saturday: "clean one window"

And so on. Notice that I don't have a decluttering activity scheduled each day. These small activities make me feel that I am "taking care of the to do list" yet never facing a gigantic chore which will increase the likelihood of procrastinating and putting it off.

A useful resource is the Get Organized Now website. It is a neat site that offers a monthly calendar of small activities to help you get organised. I don't personally follow the schedule but I signed up for the newsletter and get a monthly notice that there are new ideas and strategies.

Create a sanctuary - Focus on one space in your home
Another approach is to focus on one space in your home and make it clutter-free and serene. If you have young children, it may be impossible to get all the clutter out of the shared living space. Instead, can you focus on one area, say your bedroom or a little nook in the house and make it yours?

If you would like to read more on this topic, I recommend visiting Leo Babauta's website Zen Habits: Zen habits and Cheryl Richardson's book "Take Time for your Life."


Take 10 minutes per day to breathe
If you work in a stressful and hectic work environment, it is important to build in some simple strategies to decompress at the end of your day. I suggest you find 10 minutes in your day where you will be undisturbed: whether it is sitting in your car before heading home, on the subway with your ipod plugged in, or when you get home. If you are easily distracted and have difficulty spending 10 minutes sitting undisturbed, I recommend you purchase a simple breathing or relaxation cd or download a track from itunes. I suggest: Dr Mark Berber's "Creating Inner Calm" cd, available at Chapters/Indigo and on itunes "Encres de chine" by Fabrice Tonnellier and meditations with Dr Siddarth Ashvin.

Many of you may have come across Gail Vaz-Oxlade's show "Till debt do us Part" on television. In it, she meets with overextended debt-riddled couples and challenges them to drastically cut back on their spending. The lessons are simple and realistic yet clearly still hard for many of us to achieve. How can we possibly look at improving our self care and reducing our work stress if we are buried in credit card bills?

I just came across Vaz-Oxlade's website and blog and was very impressed with the resources and suggestions she offers. Go take a look.

This workshop is being organized by the Southeastern Ontario Palliative & End-of-Life Care Network Conference. Unfortunately, I will be away in Winnipeg and will be unable to attend but if you are near Kingston, I urge you to consider attending.

Title: "The Threads that Bind"
Thursday, May 7, 2009: Plenaries & workshops featuring Bob Heath and David Kuhl
Friday, May 8, 2009: Sustaining Health Care Providers in the Workplace with David Kuhl & Hilary Pearson
Days Inn Kingston Hotel & Convention Centre

For more information contact Maggie George 613-544-8200 ext 4301

You only have until April 19th 2009 to make your opinions known.

From a press release from the Commission:

The Mental Health Commission of Canada invites you to contribute to the development of a mental health strategy for Canada.

Click here for more information

Canada is the only G8 country without a mental health strategy. The Mental Health Commission of Canada has been given the responsibility to work with Canadians to address this gap.

An important part of this process is for the Commission to hear from as many individual Canadians as possible that have been affected by or are interested in mental health issues. The Commission is also committed to engaging with organizations or groups who are active in the area of mental health, mental illness and addiction.

With this in mind, the Commission has launched an extensive online consultation process to allow you, or your group or organization, to learn about and provide input on this very important topic.

Make your contribution to the development of a mental health strategy for Canada by visiting:

www.mentalhealthcommission.ca/strategy

The Commission also invites you to share this invitation with others who might wish to participate, or learn about mental health issues in Canada. We hope to hear from as many individual Canadians, groups and organizations as possible: it is only by working together that we will keep mental health issues out of the shadows - forever.

If you were hoping to attend, consider registering for the next session, November 24 and 25, 2009. For more information: www.compassionfatigue.ca

Please note that there are still spots for managers to attend the May 4-5th workshop with Dr Pat Fisher:

Are you a Manager in a High Stress Organization?
Come and learn how to handle difficult situations with your staff with one of the leaders in the field of Workplace Trauma and Organizational Health.

THE CRITICAL ROLE OF LEADERSHIP IN ORGANIZATIONAL HEALTH:
An Applied Manager Training Program

with Dr Pat Fisher, Ph.D., R.Psych., L.Psych.
Organizational Health and Employee Wellness specialist

May 4th-5th, 2009
Donald Gordon Centre, Kingston, On.

For more info: www.compassionfatigue.ca

(Françoise's desk Sunday April 5th, 2009)

Before you start reading this post, I would like to describe to you my current working conditions on this lovely Sunday morning: we recently had a flood in our basement which wiped out the children's play area which means that they immediately invaded my home office with millions of tiny plastic toys that crunch underfoot and never seem to go back in their storage tubs. Defeated, I temporarily migrated to the dining room table, waiting for the basement to be back in use. So, while trying to write this post I have had: 1) a 30 minute fashion show by my 11 year old who just unpacked a bag of hand-me-downs from her cousins 2) two 8 year old boys eating peanut butter straight from the jar with gigantic spoons 3) a skunk walking in our backyard and 4) a sibling dispute to break up! But truth is, the house feels very empty when they are not here, and I will step on a crunchy plastic toy quite happily. The benefits far outweigh the costs.

During the past two weeks, I have presented to oncology and palliative care workers in a large Montreal hospital, nurses from Corrections and staff at a busy community mental health agency. The workshops offered were half day presentations on compassion fatigue and vicarious trauma.

I wish I could find the right words to accurately describe the energy that is present during these workshops. I think the reason for this intensity and engagement from participants has to do with all of us helpers being given an opportunity to reflect on and talk about the cost of caring. Being able to take a few hours out of our incredibly fast-paced work lives to take stock and look at the impact that this work has on us.

Reflecting on the past 7-8 years, I have often asked myself "why does this always feel like a brand new workshop, each time I offer it?" I think that this energy from participants is really the only way to explain that presenting the same workshop five times in two days remains a replenishing experience for me.

I think the same can be true of clinical work: Have you ever looked at a day's worth of client appointments and felt anticipatorily drained, only to wrap up the day feeling energized and think to yourself "wow, that went by very quickly." Yes, client work can be draining, but it can also offer us incredible rewards and opportunities for renewal. Laughter is one source of replenishment in our work ( I think there is probably more laughter in counselling work than outsiders might imagine, even in terrible situations), and so is watching someone make an amazing change in their life, take a risk, big or small, gain an insight, take a stand. I have sat in session many, many times, filled with admiration for the courage of the person in front of me, filled with awe and feeling honoured to be the holder of their testimonial. That is why we do this work, isn't it?

I feel the same way about facilitating CF/VT workshops. I also think that combining the two is a good blend: working with clients part time and offering workshops part time. I wonder what your ideal blend would be?

This week, I am going to Ottawa to offer a Vicarious Trauma retreat to Crown Witness Coordinators (CWCs). CWCs provide Northern victims/witnesses with assistance throughout the court process. CWCs travel the North West Territories, the Yukon and Nunavut along with what is called "Circuit Court" - a travelling court of justice that goes from region to region, offering court services across the north. I am very much looking forward to meeting these CWCs.

Till next time, happy Passover and happy Easter for those of you who observe these holidays, and happy Spring to you all.

Change One Thing
by Bill O'Hanlon, 223 N. Guadalupe #278, Santa Fe, NM 87501 USA
www.billohanlon.com, PossiBill@aol.com

[You have permission to reproduce this handout as long as you keep my contact information on it and do not use it for money-making purposes without obtaining my explicit permission.]

Sometimes we don't make changes because they are too difficult of daunting or we are "fixin' to get ready," as my friend Helen says. One way to get change going is to consider the smallest change you can make and begin. Often inertia will continue to take you in the direction of change once you start. If not, at least you are moving forward a little. As Milton Erickson used to say, "If you fall on your face, at least you are heading in the right direction."

Identify the smallest change you can make and begin
If you want to write a book and aren't getting it done, try writing one word a day. I used to recommend five minutes a day (which is fine if that works for you), but if even five minutes seems too much, start with one word a day. Clean up, organize, or toss one piece from that stack of papers/mail/magazines cluttering your house or office.

Commit to a limited period of time for the change
You could commit to walking for five minutes a day for the next week. Or de-cluttering that pile of papers for the next three days. Forever is too daunting for most. Time-limited often works better.

Focus on only one thing at a time
Stop multi-tasking and experiment with doing only the thing you are doing. Or attend only to the person or experience you are with at the moment. Listen to and watch the person you are conversing with (rather than texting, glancing at the television, thinking about what you will do or say next, etc.). Eat when you are eating. Drive when you are driving.

Build a new habit one day at a time
Do the new habit for 5 minutes each day until it becomes ingrained, then expand the time or effort you put in.

Dismantle an old, unhelpful or unhealthy habit one piece at a time
Change one small thing about the old habit. Drink half a soda and half a glass of water with a meal instead of a soda. Park a little farther away from the store or your workplace and walk a little. Eat everything that is unhealthy with your non-dominant hand.