"If your compassion does not include yourself, it is incomplete."
- Author Unknown
What about Resources?
This resource center was created to help professionals recognize compassion fatigue and increase compassion satisfaction. Resources will address awareness & education, self-care, boundaries and ideas for workplace support systems.
Awareness and educational materials will allow helping professionals to learn about compassion fatigue and how to recognize it (University of Iowa, 2009). It is important to self-assess and self-evaluate in order to normalize the compassion fatigue experience (Osofsky, 2011). That way, helpers have a way of labeling what they feel and validation that it is normal (Mathieu, 2007a).
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Self-care is a way that helpers can develop compassion satisfaction (Harr, 2013). Self-care always starts with the understanding and realization that refreshment and renewal is a necessity. This holistic well-being is about having a proper work-life balance (Harr, 2013; Huggard, 2008; Osofsky, 2011; University of Iowa, 2009)
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Forming and maintaining boundaries is a way that professional helpers can avoid being too emotionally invested in their patients’ experiences (Harr, 2013).
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Workplace support can help foster awareness/education, self-care and boundaries. They can create an environment that is emotionally supportive (Harr, 2013). This type of environment has a place to address staff concerns and a time to reflect on difficult experiences and potential risks for developing compassion fatigue (Harr, 2013; Osofsky, 2011; University of Iowa, 2009). By including time for ongoing education, they are able to recognize what compassion fatigue is and providing opportunities for employees to be aware of potential problems through self-measures (Harr, 2013; University of Iowa, 2009).
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