This document discusses compassion satisfaction and compassion fatigue in caregivers. It defines compassion fatigue as the negative effects of caring for others, including burnout from feeling overwhelmed and secondary traumatic stress from indirect exposure to trauma. The document also outlines symptoms of compassion fatigue like excessive blaming, bottled up emotions, and substance abuse. Additionally, it introduces the Professional Quality of Life Scale for measuring an individual's compassion satisfaction, burnout, and secondary traumatic stress.

1. © Beth Hudnall Stamm, 2009. www.ProQOL.org
For more information see www.proqol.org
Compassion Satisfaction and
Compassion Fatigue
Presented by Shae Taylor, LMSW for Peachtree Hills Animal
Hospital

2. © Beth Hudnall Stamm, 2009. www.ProQOL.org© Beth Hudnall Stamm, 2009. www.ProQOL.org
What is Compassion Fatigue?
• The negative effects that working as a care
giver has on the individual who is providing
care for another individual or animal. This
includes:
• Burnout-occurs when an employee becomes
inefficient in his or her role due to feeling
overwhelmed.
• Work-related traumatic stress- primary or
secondary

3. © Beth Hudnall Stamm, 2009. www.ProQOL.org© Beth Hudnall Stamm, 2009. www.ProQOL.org
Work-Related Traumatic Stress
• Primary traumatic stress- direct target of event
• Secondary traumatic exposure to event due to a
relationship with the primary person

4. © Beth Hudnall Stamm, 2009. www.ProQOL.org© Beth Hudnall Stamm, 2009. www.ProQOL.org
Veterinary Social Work
Four different areas of veterinary social work:
• Grief and Pet Loss
• Compassion Fatigue Management
• Animal-Assisted Interactions (therapeutic
intervention using animals)
• Human and Animal Violence (abuse to
animals)

5. © Beth Hudnall Stamm, 2009. www.ProQOL.org
Professional Quality of Life
Compassion Satisfaction
• The positive aspects
of helping
• “The good stuff”
Compassion Fatigue
• The negative aspects of
helping
• “The bad stuff’

6. © Beth Hudnall Stamm, 2009. www.ProQOL.org
CS-CF Model
Professional Quality of Life
Compassion
Satisfaction
Compassion
Fatigue
Burnout
Secondary
Trauma

7. © Beth Hudnall Stamm, 2009. www.ProQOL.org© Beth Hudnall Stamm, 2009. www.ProQOL.org
Compassion Satisfaction
• Encompasses the positive aspects of helping
– Pleasure and satisfaction derived from working in
helping, care giving systems
• Positive aspects include:
– Providing care
– To the system
– Work with colleagues
– Beliefs about self
– Altruism

8. © Beth Hudnall Stamm, 2009. www.ProQOL.org© Beth Hudnall Stamm, 2009. www.ProQOL.org
Compassion Fatigue
• The negative aspects of helping
• The negative aspects of working in helping
systems may be related to:
– Providing care
– To the system
– Work with colleagues
– Beliefs about self
• Burnout
• Work-related trauma

9. © Beth Hudnall Stamm, 2009. www.ProQOL.org© Beth Hudnall Stamm, 2009. www.ProQOL.org
Symptoms of Compassion Fatigue
• Excessive blaming
• Bottled up emotions
• Isolation from others
• Receives unusual amount of complaints from others
• Voices excessive complaints about administrative functions
• Substance abuse used to mask feelings
• Compulsive behaviors such as overspending, overeating,
gambling, sexual addictions
• Poor self-care (i.e., hygiene, appearance)
• Legal problems, indebtedness
• •

10. © Beth Hudnall Stamm, 2009. www.ProQOL.org© Beth Hudnall Stamm, 2009. www.ProQOL.org
Symtoms of Compassion Fatigue
Cont.
• Reoccurrence of nightmares and flashbacks to traumatic
event
• Chronic physical ailments such as gastrointestinal problems
and recurrent colds
• Apathy, sad, no longer finds activities pleasurable
• Difficulty concentrating
• Mentally and physically tired
• Preoccupied
• In denial about problems

11. © Beth Hudnall Stamm, 2009. www.ProQOL.org© Beth Hudnall Stamm, 2009. www.ProQOL.org
Burnout and
Secondary Traumatic Stress (STS)
• Burnout
– Work-related hopelessness and feelings of
inefficacy
• STS
– Work-related secondary exposure to traumatically
stressful events
• Both share negative affect
– Burnout is about being worn out
– STS is about being afraid
© Beth Hudnall Stamm, 2009. Professional Quality of Life Scale (ProQOL).
www.proqol.org. This test may be freely copied as long as (a) author is credited,
(b) no changes are made without author authorization, and (c) it is not sold.

12. © Beth Hudnall Stamm, 2009. www.ProQOL.org© Beth Hudnall Stamm, 2009. www.ProQOL.org
People Bring Themselves
• People bring a past and a present to anything
they do
– Their schemas and beliefs
– Their stigma beliefs
– Their social support systems
• Positive support
• Negative support
– Their history of trauma and illness
– Their families and close others
– Their economic situation

13. © Beth Hudnall Stamm, 2009. www.ProQOL.org
Complex Relationships
Professional
Quality
of Life
Compassion
Fatigue
Compassion
Satisfaction
(ProQOL CS)
Work
Environment
Client
Environment
Personal
Environment
Traumatized
by work
Secondary
Traumatic
Stress
Primary
Exposure
Frustration
Anger
Exhaustion Depressed by
Work
Environment
(Burnout)

14. © Beth Hudnall Stamm, 2009. www.ProQOL.org© Beth Hudnall Stamm, 2009. www.ProQOL.org
Measuring CS & CF: The Professional
Quality of Life Scale (ProQOL)
• A 30 item self report measure of compassion
satisfaction and compassion fatigue (burnout
and STS)
• Can be viewed as a screening for stress-
related health problems

15. © Beth Hudnall Stamm, 2009. www.ProQOL.org© Beth Hudnall Stamm, 2009. www.ProQOL.org
Resiliency Planning
• Individual, personally
– The ProQOL can help you plan where to put your
energy to increase our resilience
• Organizational planning
– Can help organizations find ways to maximize the
positive aspects and reduce the negative aspects of
helping
• Supportive Supervision
– The ProQOL can be used as information for
discussions

16. © Beth Hudnall Stamm, 2009. www.ProQOL.org© Beth Hudnall Stamm, 2009. www.ProQOL.org
WWW.PROQOL.ORG
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