Caring for the Caregiver · Moving from compassion fatigue to compassion satisfaction: Building...

CaringfortheCaregiverRachelHammerton

MastersinSelfCare,CaregiveratSparkLifecare

AllisonCarrollDirectorofCulture,SparkLifecare

ZackRileyCarePartner,SparkLifecare

Informal/FamilyCaregivers

• 8,000,000+peopleinCanadaprovidecaretoafriendorlovedone• 550,000oftheseprovidecaretosomeonestrugglingwithamentalillnessoraphysicallimitation

• 71%offamilycaregiversprovidecarewithmorethan2tasks• 9/10informalcaregiversprovideemotionalsupport• 49%ofinformalcaregiverswithkidsundertheageof18reportedthatcaregivingdutiesimpededthetimetheyspendwiththeirkids• Themoreintensethecareprovided,themorestresslevelsandphysicalandemotionalhealthlevelsdecline

ProfessionalCaregivers

• Theyare:• Empathetic• Compassionate• Abletoportrayprofessionalism• Abletoavoidbecomingoverlyemotionallyinvolvedwithclients

ProfessionalCaregivers

• 21-67%ofmentalhealthworkersexperienceburnout• Often,caregiversarerewardedformeasurableoutcomes,efficiency,andtechniqueswithclients• Organizationsareoftenmotivatedbybeingcosteffectiveandefficient• Highturnoverratesamongtheprofession• Roleambiguityandconfusioncanleadtoburnout• Humanhealth,welfare,andsocialcarehavebeenshowntotopchartsinthemoststress-outoccupationalsectors

Burnout

TheStatistics:

• NationalAllianceofCaregiving - 72% offamilycaregiversreportnotgoingtothedoctorasoftenastheyshouldand55%skipdoctorappointmentsforthemselves.

• StatisticsCanada:Nearly3in10peoplearefamilycaregivers(2012).

• StatisticsCanada:nearlyhalfofCanadiansaged15yearsandolder(46%)or13millionCanadianshadprovidedsometypeofcaretoafamilymemberorfriendwithalong-termhealthcondition,disabilityoragingneedsin2012.

SignsofBurnout

• Feelingoverwhelmed/constantworry• Feelingfatigued• Toolittle/toomuchsleep(patternschange)• Weightloss/gain• Moreeasilyirritable• Losinginterestinhobbies• Physicalpain/problems

Howtoavoidburnout

• Setrealisticgoals• Setpersonalhealthgoals• Focusonwhatyoucanprovide• Seeyourdoctor• Stayconnectedandmakenewconnections!

CompassionFatigue/SecondaryTrauma

IsItAllBad?

• No!• Compassionsatisfactionisthepositivefeelingsthatarisefromhelpingothers• Itisamajorpartofourprofessionandisrelatedtoourprofessionalqualityoflife• Howdoesithelp?• Increasesmotivation,interest,andattitudestowardswork• Provideasenseofaccomplishment• Reducestheeffectsofburnout• Givesgreaterhopeforpositiveclientoutcomesandfeelingsofpersonalvalue

ProQoL

Burnout• Thehigherthescore,thehighertheriskofburnout• Whatyoucando• Talktoemployerorspouse• Seekprofessionalhelp

AndmyBurnoutlevelis:

Low

Average

High

ProQoL

SecondaryTraumaticStress• Second-handexposuretotraumaticorstressfulevents• Whatyoucando:• Identifythefears/sourceofthePTSDsymptoms• Reachouttoemployer• Counselling

AndmySecondary TraumaticStress levelis:

Low

Average

High

ProQoL

CompassionSatisfaction• Thehigherthescore,thebetter!• Beingabletofindpleasurefromhelpingothers• Whatcanyoudoifyouhavealowscore• Findwaystoigniteyourinnerspark• Findmeaninginotherareasofyourlife• Identifyspecificallywhatismissingtomakeyoujoyful

AndmyCompassionSatisfactionlevelis:

Low

Average

High

Buzzword:Self-care

• Oneof2018’sbiggesttrends• InaWesternculture,perfectionism,busyness,andproductivityarehighlyvaluedanddesired• Self-careisourattempttochangingsocietalstandards

• Whilemanypeoplerecognizeit’svalue,peoplearenotgoodatimplementingitintotheirownlives• Particularlycaregivers!

WhySelf-Care?

• To havetofocusandhealourownwoundsbeforewecandosoforothers• Toprovidebetterservicesforclients

• Self-careisabletoprotectagainstburnoutanditsnegativeimpactstoclients• Tocreateabalancebetweenthepersonalandprofessionallives• Itistheoxygenmasktoourprofession

• Wehavetoprovideforourselvesbeforeweareabletoprovideforothers• Notonlydoesithelpalleviatestress,butitcanalsoimproveareassuchasself-compassion,decreasedistress,andincreaseoveralllifesatisfaction• Itisanactofself-love

• Self-awareness+self-care=self-love

WhatExactlyIsSelf-Care?

• It’smorethana“treatyo’self”mentalityandabubblebathonaFridaynight• It’slookingatwhoyouwerebeforethejob• Tohelpseparateworkandpersonalandcreateabalance

• Allowsyoutoreconnectwithyourself

WhatExactlyisSelf-Care?

• Itis• Purposefulandproactive• Individualizedandintentional• Bytheselfandfortheself

• It’sNOT• Selfish• Asignofweakness• Aone-and-doneevent

Self-CareWheel

HowDoIStart?

• Self-exploration• WhatdoIlike?• WheredoIfindmeaning?• WhowasIbeforethejob?

• Firststep• Findnon-negotiableself-caretimeinyourschedule• Blockitoff!

DevelopingaSelf-CarePlan

Step1:Self-Evaluate

• Whatdoyoudocurrentlytoalleviatestress?• Whatpositiveskillsdoyouuse?• Whatnegativeskillsdoyouuse?


Step2:Whatdoyouneed?

Daily:Whatarethingsthatyoucanintegrateintoyourdailyroutinethatfulfillyourself-careneeds?• Physically• Mentally• Emotionally• Spiritually


Step2:Whatdoyouneed?

Emergency:Whenyouareinacrisissituation,whatcanyoudo/avoiddoingtohelp?• Whathelpsyoustaycalm/whattendstomakeyoufeelmoreanxious?• Whatshouldyousaytoyourselfincrisis/whatshouldn’tyousaytoyourself?• Whathelpsyoutostaypositiveandwhatbringsyourmooddown?• Whatmethods/peoplehelpyougetthroughcrisesandwhatmethods/peoplemakescrisesmoredifficult?


Step3:BarriersandAreasforImprovement

• Whatareyoucurrentlydoingforself-care?• Whatishelpingyoutofeelbetter?• Whatisnothelpingyoufeelbetter?



• Whatstandsinbetweenyouandyourself-care?• Howcanyouhandlethosebarriers?

Remember– it’sintegrating,notadding!



• Replaceyournegativecopingskillswithpositiveones• Startsmall– thinkofoneortwoandcomeupwithviablealternativestodestress


Step4:PuttingitallTogetherDaily Self-CarePlan

Physical Mental Emotional Spiritual

Top3PositiveCoping Strategies

EmergencySelf-CarePlan

Helpful (ToDo) Harmful(ToAvoid)

Top5 Top5

Whatdotheprosdo?

MikeMcMahonDirector,CanadianMentalHealthAssociation,OxfordCounty

Shafik SunderaniPsychotherapistinCorrections,GovernmentofCanada

Whatdotheprosdo?

ChantalvonSchoenbergDoctorateinPhysiotherapy

SuzanneMcKennaHealthProfessional

ImportanceofHobbies

• immerseyourselfinsomethingjustforyou• “I’mtoobusy”- hasbecomeabadgeofhonour• helpsyoubecomemoreefficientwithyourtime

BenefitsofHobbies

• Fostersnewsocialconnections• connectwithlikemindedindividuals• meetnewpeopleyouotherwisewouldn’t• socialconnectionleadstohappiness• Ex.Bookclub,knittingclub,socialmediacommunity

BenefitsofHobbies

• Helpyoucopewithstress• Addlayerstoyouridentity. Youarenot‘just’amom/dad.Youarenot‘just’anemployee.Youareanartist. Awriter.Acontributortosociety• “Ablowtooneaspectofyouridentityislessdamaging”• Turnoffyourbrainandquietyourthoughts• Shiftinperspective

TheoryofFlow- Mihaly Csikszentmihaly

• activeleisurevspassiveleisure• loseyourselfinasport,anactivity• timefliesandyouarefullyimmersed• yourbrainshutsoffandcanrest

ReferencesBrzosko,M.(2018).Howtopracticephysical,mental,andemotionalself-care.Shine.Retrievedfromhttps://advice.shinetext.com/articles/how-to-practice-physical-mental-and-emotional-self-care/Everall,R.D.,&Paulson,B.L.(2004).Burnoutandsecondarytraumaticstress:Impactonethicalbehaviour.CanadianJournalofCounselling;Kanata,38(1),25–35.Kurtz,J.(2015).Sixreasonstogetahobby.PsychologyToday.Retrievedfrom https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/happy-trails/201509/six-reasons-get-hobbyJones,S.(2018).Self-care,schmelf-care:ThebuzzwordI’mparticularlybadat.TheCounsellorsCafé.Retrievedfromhttps://www.thecounsellorscafe.co.uk/single-post/2018/07/26/Self-care-The-buzzwordMathieu,F.(2007).Transformingcompassionfatigueintocompassionsatisfaction:Top12self-caretipsforhelpers.CompassionFatigue.Mayorga,M.G.,Devries,S.R.,&Wardle,E.A.(2015).Thepracticeofself-careamongcounselingstudents.JournalonEducationalPsychology,8(3),21–28.Moore,S.E.,Bledsoe,L.K.,Perry,A.R.,&Robinson,M.A.(2011).Socialworkstudentsandself-care:Amodelassignmentforteaching.JournalofSocialWorkEducation,47(3),545–553.https://doi.org/10.5175/JSWE.2011.201000004Morse,G.,Salyers,M.P.,Rollins,A.L.,Monroe-DeVita,M.,&Pfahler,C.(2012).Burnoutinmentalhealthservices:Areviewoftheproblemanditsremediation.AdministrationandPolicyinMentalHealth,39(5),341–352.https://doi.org/10.1007/s10488-011-0352-1Self-carestarterkit.(n.d.).HomewoodHealth.

ReferencesSharp,C.S.(2017).Movingfromcompassionfatiguetocompassionsatisfaction:Buildingworkplaceresilience.NationalCouncilforBehavioralHealth

Thompson,E.H.,Frick,M.H.,&Trice-Black,S.(2011).Counselor-in-trainingperceptionsofsupervisionpracticesrelatedtoself-careandburnout.TheProfessionalCounselor,1(3),152–162.https://doi.org/10.15241/eht.1.3.152

Richardson,V.,Berzoff,J.,&Silverman,P.R.(2004).Livingwithdying:Ahandbookforend-of-lifehealthcarepractitioners.NY,NewYork:ColumbiaUniversityPress.

Wagaman,M.A.,Geiger,J.M.,Shockley,C.,&Segal,E.A.(2015).Theroleofempathyinburnout,compassionsatisfaction,andsecondarytraumaticstressamongsocialworkers.SocialWork,60(3),201-209.doi: https://doi.org/10.1093/sw/swv014

Walker,S.(2018).Selfcare:Howtopractice2018’sbiggestwellnesstrend.Woman&Home.Retrievedfromhttps://www.womanandhome.com/health-and-wellbeing/self-care-2018-41449/

Williams,I.D.,Richardson,T.A.,Moore,D.D.,Gambrel,L.E.,&Keeling,M.L.(2010).Perspectivesonself-care.JournalofCreativityinMentalHealth,5(3),320–338.https://doi.org/10.1080/15401383.2010.507700

Wise,E.H.,Hersh,M.A.,&Gibson,C.M.(2012).Ethics,self-careandwell-beingforpsychologists:Reenvisioning thestress-distresscontinuum.ProfessionalPsychology:ResearchandPractice,43(5),487–494.http://dx.doi.org.proxy.bib.uottawa.ca/10.1037/a0029446

THANKYOU!Thankyoutoallofyoucaregivers!

ThankyoutoMichelle,andteam,fromBrainInjuryCanada

Stayintouch!

RachelHammerton ([email protected]

ZackRiley([email protected])

AllisonCarroll([email protected])

Caring for the Caregiver · Moving from compassion fatigue to compassion satisfaction: Building...

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