The Impact of Compassion Fatigue in Peer Support Work
This 1-hour course explores the impact of compassion fatigue in peer support work. People who care for others, especially those in the human services field, face the ever-present challenge of compassion fatigue. This condition, known as the “cost of caring,” is now acknowledged as an organizational contagion: It has the potential to corrode a person’s emotional, mental, and physical health. Compassion fatigue can disrupt personal relationships, impact family life, and jeopardize careers. Left unaddressed, complete burnout may result. This training helps people understand the risks of compassion fatigue, recognize its symptoms, and gain strategies to prevent and manage it. They will gain knowledge and tools to maintain their own health and balance while supporting others.
What You’ll Learn
By the end of this course, you will be able to:
- Define compassion fatigue, secondary traumatic stress, and burnout, understanding their similarities and differences.
- Recognize the personal, professional, and relational symptoms of compassion fatigue.
- Identify individual risk factors that may increase vulnerability to compassion fatigue.
- Implement self-care practices that address physical, emotional, and cognitive needs.
- Create a resilience toolkit with personalized strategies to manage compassion fatigue long-term.