Compassion fatigue increases stress resulting in lost productivity, staff turnover, and overall poor organizational health. Professionals in behavioral health or “helping profession” settings are at risk for developing secondary traumatic stress, depression, and/or burnout as they attend to others’s needs.  Professional’s needs are often overlooked in discussions about addressing compassion fatigue in the workforce. Priorities for clinicians, recovery support specialists, and caregivers are to interact with their clients to promote and model healthy coping behaviors.

The final session, Part IV: Creating a Shelter from the Storm: Reflection and discussion, will focus on the individual and provide a hands-on interactive experiences in topics such as building resilience, routine self-check ins, and practicing healthy habits. Tools to balance the effects of compassion fatigue and a brief resilience scale will be introduced.