protecting the career practitioner from compassion fatigue and burnout wellness works
TRANSCRIPT
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