What is Compassion Fatigue?
You love your job. You love your clients, patients, students, or others entrusted to your care.
Or you want to love them. Or you did love them.
Now you’re finding it harder and harder to be present to them. To really listen. To not just solve, fix, redirect, and move on with your day. You’re irritable, anxious, depressed, or just can’t feel anything anymore. You can’t focus; what used to take you 10 minutes now takes you an hour. Your memory is shot. You have migraines, digestive issues, insomnia, &/or other illness symptoms. You are Just So Tired, and nothing you do seems to fill that void of fatigue.
What in the world happened? To who you were, and to how you used to do your job?
In a word: Burnout. In 2 words: Compassion Fatigue.
Burnout = E x h a u s t i o n. Physical. Mental. Emotional. Exhaustion. It happens when we can no longer cope with our work environment.
Compassion Fatigue = the resulting implosion when we mix Burnout and Secondary Trauma. (Some researchers clarify that it is when Burnout mixes with Secondary Trauma Syndrome, still others say that it is when it mixes with Primary Trauma, and still others have various other names for it, but I am trying to keep this simple here. Because You are Just So Tired.)
Secondary Trauma = you are exposed to a trauma that happens to someone else.
This means that you experience that trauma in a Secondary (vs. Primary) way. I used to get blank stares when I described this. Before COVID. Now, I just say that it is, for example, when you are deeply impacted by COVID, even if you didn’t get it or lose your job from it. This also defines what happens when listening to (or even reading about) your clients, patients, students, others entrusted to your care, or others with whom you feel deep solidarity impacts you. (I’m trying to keep this simple here, but systemic racism and other forms of oppression and inequity are gigantic forms of Secondary Trauma.)
For more on Primary Trauma, see the Trauma Work page of this website. (And, remember, as it’s dragged on, COVID has also become a Primary trauma to many of us. So too, systemic racism and other forms of oppression and inequity are gigantic forms of Primary Trauma.)
Or you want to love them. Or you did love them.
Now you’re finding it harder and harder to be present to them. To really listen. To not just solve, fix, redirect, and move on with your day. You’re irritable, anxious, depressed, or just can’t feel anything anymore. You can’t focus; what used to take you 10 minutes now takes you an hour. Your memory is shot. You have migraines, digestive issues, insomnia, &/or other illness symptoms. You are Just So Tired, and nothing you do seems to fill that void of fatigue.
What in the world happened? To who you were, and to how you used to do your job?
In a word: Burnout. In 2 words: Compassion Fatigue.
Burnout = E x h a u s t i o n. Physical. Mental. Emotional. Exhaustion. It happens when we can no longer cope with our work environment.
Compassion Fatigue = the resulting implosion when we mix Burnout and Secondary Trauma. (Some researchers clarify that it is when Burnout mixes with Secondary Trauma Syndrome, still others say that it is when it mixes with Primary Trauma, and still others have various other names for it, but I am trying to keep this simple here. Because You are Just So Tired.)
Secondary Trauma = you are exposed to a trauma that happens to someone else.
This means that you experience that trauma in a Secondary (vs. Primary) way. I used to get blank stares when I described this. Before COVID. Now, I just say that it is, for example, when you are deeply impacted by COVID, even if you didn’t get it or lose your job from it. This also defines what happens when listening to (or even reading about) your clients, patients, students, others entrusted to your care, or others with whom you feel deep solidarity impacts you. (I’m trying to keep this simple here, but systemic racism and other forms of oppression and inequity are gigantic forms of Secondary Trauma.)
For more on Primary Trauma, see the Trauma Work page of this website. (And, remember, as it’s dragged on, COVID has also become a Primary trauma to many of us. So too, systemic racism and other forms of oppression and inequity are gigantic forms of Primary Trauma.)
So what can we do about it?
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I’m here to help!
I am, in no particular order: a Consultant (including Trauma-Informed Care (TIC); Homelessness; Nonprofit Management; Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI); Systems / Policies and Procedures (P&P), and more); Compassion Fatigue Specialist; Compassion Fatigue Resiliency Educator; Clinical Traumatologist; Early Intervention Field Traumatologist; Spiritual Director; Retreat Leader; Spiritual Direction Supervisor; Anthropologist; Sociologist; Researcher. For my work on homelessness, I’ve pretty much done it all in the past 30 years; in many states and regions in the US, and in multiple countries. I’ve worked as a consultant, researcher, practitioner, thought partner, and board member for countless organizations. I’ve conducted data-driven, evidence-based, measurable-success Trauma-Informed Care (TIC) and/or Compassion Fatigue 1:1 sessions, retreats, and interventions with staff and leadership. I’ve consulted on I've served on the Continuum of Care (CoC) in Northwest Arkansas, including developing policies and procedures, and deciding recipients, for HUD funding. I’ve developed policies and procedures; conducted outreach; and then extensive interviews to ensure that people experiencing chronic homelessness were on the By-Name List (BNL) to qualify for housing. I’ve provided group sessions and retreats, and 1:1 sessions, for clients experiencing homelessness, clients in transitional or bridge housing, clients in Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH), and the staffs who serve them, especially around loss, grief, burnout, trauma, and transition. I've worked as a Senior Interviewer for Deborah Padgett’s early work (when we were starting to demonstrate the success of Housing First, before she, literally, became one of its chief authors; her Housing First, with Ben Henwood and Sam Tsemberis, is a must-read). I've reported and written on homelessness in New York City, and on mental health care in rural Costa Rica, for the Lancet, among other books and articles. I completed a master’s degree in sociology and anthropology, with a thesis utilizing mixed methods (qualitative and quantitative; ethnographic and survey) on information exchange among African-American men experiencing chronic homelessness and mental illness. I helped create, fund, and staff a shelter in New York City (All Angels’ Church, which remains a model of best practices to this day). I’ve taken sandwiches to folks experiencing homelessness in England and listened as they shared their sacred stories. (See more in the About page of this website.) Someone recently called me ‘a veteran’ in this work, which felt right. It could all really be called listening; (portable) shelter; or Trauma-Informed Care (TIC). Or, as one client experiencing homelessness once called me: ‘a bartender without the alcohol.’ I’m always listening if you want to pitch something. This work grew out of providing listening sessions and meditation at a day shelter for clients experiencing homelessness, and staff begging for (um, requesting) the same for themselves. Currently, I’m focusing on (2) areas:
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Sample reports based on an actual intervention with a non-profit organization:
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I have limited the scope of my work for organizations — in Trauma-Informed Care (TIC), and the subset of Compassion Fatigue — to *only* those serving people experiencing and/or transitioning out of homelessness. With priority given to those with Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) or Housing First programs. After 30+ years of work in homelessness in one way or another, I think this is the best way for me to be part of the systemic change that will solve rather than merely manage homelessness. Let’s solve homelessness together!
If you’re interested in mitigating Compassion Fatigue (Burnout + Secondary Trauma) in your entire organization, congratulations, you are moving into next-level, Trauma-Informed Care (TIC)! Please see my page on that, and then contact me. If you don’t hear from me in 2 business days (I practice good boundaries), follow up with an email.
If you’re interested in mitigating Compassion Fatigue (Burnout + Secondary Trauma) in your entire organization, congratulations, you are moving into next-level, Trauma-Informed Care (TIC)! Please see my page on that, and then contact me. If you don’t hear from me in 2 business days (I practice good boundaries), follow up with an email.
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If you’re interested in mitigating Compassion Fatigue for a smaller crowd than an entire organization -- your team, direct reports, or yourself -- please reach out for my 7-session Compassion Fatigue interventions, and/or join The Homelessness Haven – learning collaboratives / case consultations / troubleshooting clinics for frontline staff -- on your own, or with your staff, in Baltimore (including on site at your agency if you’d like), or remotely. Please contact me. Again, If you don’t hear from me in 2 business days (I practice good boundaries), follow up with an email.
I am certified to – and will – reduce the intensity, frequency, and duration of Compassion Fatigue (CF) symptoms, which often parallel those of PTSD. All my work is tailored to your specific organization and mission, and deepened exponentially by my vast experience in homelessness. I use a vast toolbox of tools to guide team members to make changes personally, professionally, and sometimes organizationally. |
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My Compassion Fatigue interventions include:
The exercises are optional, to avoid making any staff member feel More Tired. But there is a direct correlation between the number of exercises completed and overall scores. The more open the individual, team, and organization is to change, the more successful the intervention; short-term and, especially, long-term.
With 100% buy-in and support from leadership, especially around Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), in a 4-month, 7-session intervention, I can achieve outcome measures as high as 20% improvements in Burnout and Secondary Trauma, with the correlating reversal in increased Compassion Satisfaction.
The Homelessness Haven – learning collaboratives / case consultations / troubleshooting clinics for frontline staff -- includes:
I’m turning away private clients to be here for you. Please contact me. Again, If you don’t hear from me in 2 business days (I practice good boundaries), follow up with an email.
- quantitative assessments;
- one-on-one sessions;
- CBT (Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy);
- experiential exercises (e.g., writing);
- somatic exercises (e.g., movement);
- and much more.
The exercises are optional, to avoid making any staff member feel More Tired. But there is a direct correlation between the number of exercises completed and overall scores. The more open the individual, team, and organization is to change, the more successful the intervention; short-term and, especially, long-term.
With 100% buy-in and support from leadership, especially around Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), in a 4-month, 7-session intervention, I can achieve outcome measures as high as 20% improvements in Burnout and Secondary Trauma, with the correlating reversal in increased Compassion Satisfaction.
The Homelessness Haven – learning collaboratives / case consultations / troubleshooting clinics for frontline staff -- includes:
- first of all, a *paid* break from the rest of their day; and
- with some form of incentive for their participation (e.g., donated massages, acupuncture, yoga classes); and
- an opportunity to share with and be supported by others in the same work; and
- an opportunity to listen to and learn from others in the same work; and
- an opportunity to pose questions anonymously and have them answered collectively (e.g., how do you get a client with Complex PTSD, or C-PTSD, ready for housing?); and
- an experience of using a talking piece or some other egalitarian measure to let everyone offer input; and
- an opportunity to experience new methods of Trauma-Informed Care; and
- an opportunity to be supported by a seasoned, Trauma-Informed expert in homelessness (me!), who is, perhaps most importantly, not their boss.
I’m turning away private clients to be here for you. Please contact me. Again, If you don’t hear from me in 2 business days (I practice good boundaries), follow up with an email.
