Compassion Fatigue: Taking Care of the Caretaker

• In Event: Building Shared Knowledge: Research on the Health and Well-Being of Middle-Grades Youth

Abstract

The profession of teaching requires teachers to provide supports such as empathy, helpfulness, and compassion on a regular basis to all students. As a result, many teachers experience compassion fatigue, the emotional and physical exhaustion brought on by the everyday interactions they have with the children they teach (Figley, 1995). The challenging lived experiences of many students continue to have a profound impact on their lives and on the health and wellbeing of their teachers. Middle school teachers working with young adolescents in the time of COVID-19 are especially susceptible to compassion fatigue. Tools and assessments available to help identify compassion fatigue will be discussed. With the understanding of resilience and embracing a strengths-based perspective, compassion fatigue can be successfully addressed.
 

Authors

• Kathleen Hammel

• Sara Truebridge, Consultant