Re-igniting the Passion: Invigorating the Relationship with Self-Care to Prevent Compassion Fatigue

Subject/Topic
Most social workers and others in helping professions choose to enter the field because of their desire to help people and the great feelings they derive from doing just that. It’s called Compassion satisfaction and it keeps most in the field for extensive amounts of time, sustaining energy, drive and empathy. But what happens when that compassion satisfaction turns into compassion fatigue and helping others hurts? Compassion fatigue can lead to burnout and secondary trauma if not addressed.

This workshop has a dual purpose. It is geared toward enhancing practitioners’ well-being and then positively impacting the populations they serve. The tools gained from this workshop may be applied to practitioners and clients. This workshop will go into detail of how specific self-care practices at the individual level can prevent compassion fatigue and increase emotional well-being in the practitioner.

Workshop Description
The course will be divided into two parts. Part 1 will address practitioner needs and risk factors for compassion fatigue. The majority of the course will be geared toward enhancing practitioners’ well-being. Part 2 will discuss the parallel process, and how these tools and techniques can be applied to the client populations served. Through lecture and experiential exercises, participants will gain knowledge how to incorporate these skills into their daily lives. Participants will learn how to use these tools to improve their overall emotional well-being and build resilience against compassion fatigue. Participants will learn techniques in mindfulness, visualization, vision boards (with a creative application of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy).