The Cost of Caring - Self-Care for Workers Exposed to Traumatic Material
Course Aims:
This course is aimed at people in or alongside the caring professions, as well as anyone working in service to the public, or who works with people or animals in crisis. These environments are uniquely challenging and rewarding. A bad, or series of bad days can be mentally and emotionally exhausting. It is not unusual that people in the caring professions find themselves ‘running on empty’, emotionally drained, or affected by the stories they have heard or scenes they have witnessed day in and day out. They may fall victim to burnout, compassion fatigue, secondary trauma, or simply find it hard to switch off when they get home. They may also occasionally struggle to maintain their positivity and love for the incredibly important work that they do.
Course Objectives:
At the end of this course delegates will be able to:
- Understand the concepts of compassion fatigue, secondary trauma, and burnout.
- Identify the contributing factors that can leave people feeling vulnerable.
- Recognise the early-warning-signs and identify and address signs of fatigue or overwhelm
before they ‘go into the red’. - Understand the importance of healthily transitions from work to home.
- Identify with the why and the rewards, meaning, and value of the critical work they do.
- Share some small and not-so-small “I made a difference” victories and reconnect with
their love of the work they do.
Duration/Location:
- 1 day/In house or consultant facilitated virtual course / online training session(s)
Course Contents:
- Reflection and writing exercise
- The quality of our Professional Life. What is compassion fatigue, secondary trauma, and burnout?
- Signs, symptoms, and contributing factors of Compassion Fatigue,
- Recognising the warning signs and using the Window of Tolerance to address issues before they go ‘into the red’
- Shutting our day down intellectually and emotionally so we don’t take the day’s issues home. Developing healthy routines to leave work behind and show up at home
- In the rush and demands of our daily work, it can be easy to forget why we chose this field in the first place, to overlook the successes we have achieved, and lose sight of the reasons why we do and love the work we do.
- Transferring learning back to the workplace