Compassion fatigue: Psychotherapists’ chronic lack of self care.

“Moral sensitivity is important because it emphasizes the role of ethics and social values when working with research animals (16).”

“Figley (2002) identified symptoms of compassion fatigue across seven domains: (1) cognitive (e.g., decreased concentration); (2) emotional (e.g., anxiety, guilt, sadness); (3) behavioral (e.g., appetite changes, sleep disturbances); (4) personal relations (e.g., mistrust, isolation, loneliness);…”

“…Phone: 720.261.7042, Fax: 1.866.271.5038 It is essential for caregivers to provide unbiased assessments, incorporate best practices, and show compassion and empathy toward clients (Figley, 2002), but to continuously provide a model of excellent service can be very taxing on workers.”

“Several studies have shown mindfulness improved quality of life and reduced compassion fatigue in helping professionals (Christopher & Maris, 2010; Figley, 2002).”

“Although symptoms of BO and compassion fatigue are similar,[11] BO stems from work-related stressors while compassion fatigue is a relational source of stress.”

“According to Injeyan et al. (2011), burnout and STS are distinct phenomena; while burnout is related to prolonged work, STS is related to empathy as well as prolonged exposure to suffering and traumatic events (Figley, 2002).”

“Research has shown that directcare clinicians are at higher risk for developing secondary traumatic stress syndromes [1,2].”

“Compassion fatigue has been studied by various professional fields, including health-care [15–19, 22, 43–48] , education [20, 49], psychology [50], and social workers [14].”

“These include child protection workers, veterinarians [8], and teachers [6].”

“…to compassion fatigue, including a personal history of trauma, the amount of exposure to traumatic material, the social worker identifying that he or she has a high degree of empathy, inexperience working with trauma, and issues with countertransference (Dane & Chachkes, 2001; Figley, 2002).”

“Figley (2002b) elaborates upon the conceptual description by defining CF as a state of tension and preoccupation with traumatised patients that gives raise to (1) intrusive thoughts, feelings and images, (2) avoidant and/ or numbing reactions, and (3) a psychological state of hyper-arousal.”

“Two theoretical constructs of secondary traumatization have been proposed: “compassion fatigue” [16] and “vicarious traumatization” [17].”

“High levels of engagement have been also associated with workers’ creativity and productivity, as well as physical and psychological health, which in turn are fundamental for the delivery of high-quality services (Figley, 2002; Schaufeli & Bakker, 2004).”

“It has often been observed in nursing [31] and psychological professions [32].”

“It tends to be less gradual or predictable than burnout and tends to come on suddenly without much warning (Figley, 2002; Gentry, 2002; Stamm, 2010).”

“Previous studies suggest that even the short term exposure to patients’ distress and pain can provoke occupational stress related symptoms such as elevated blood pressure, anxiety and depressive symptoms, among health professionals (Figley, 2002; Rabin et al., 2011; Rubino et al., 2009).”

“Because empathic engagement is viewed as a prerequisite to compassion fatigue (Figley, 2002), it may be that the very students who are most effective may also be most vulnerable to secondary traumatic stress.”

“…on CM, several terms have been used to describe how a person’s traumatic stress may affect the romantic partner, children, and professional helpers of trauma victims including compassion fatigue (Figley, 2002), vicarious victims (Jehu, 1988), and trauma transmission (Baranowsky et al., 1998).”

“…that low collaborative work environments, lack of collegial support, role confusion as well as lack of opportunities for CE have all been associated with compassion fatigue (Figley, 2002; Sabo, 2008), burnout (Lee & Ashforth, 1996; Leiter, 2005) and vicarious trauma (Pearlman, 1997; Valent, 2002).”

“…of hope; reduced feelings of self-competence; functional impairment; loss of self-worth; diminished productivity; poor morale; and diminished capacity to enjoy life (Bride, Robinson, Yegidis, & Figley, 2004; Bride et al., 2007; Figley, 2002b; Gentry, Baranowsky, & Dunning, 2002; Showalter, 2010).”

“‘In our effort to view the world from the perspective of the suffering we suffer’ (Figley 2002, 1434).”

“Individuals who have the ability to extend compassionate care to themselves are able to recover and bounce back from stressors at a faster rate compared to people with lower self-compassion (Figley, 2002; Leary Tate, Adams, Batts Allen, & Hancock, 2007).”

“Caring for patients is itself emotionally challenging and can evoke providers’ own grief, sadness, anger, and even symptoms of vicarious PTSD (Figley, 2002; McNutt, Carlson, Gagen, & Winterbauer, 1999; Rodriguez, Bauer, McLoughlin, & Grumbach, 1999; Stamm, 2009; Von Korff et al., 1987).”

“For example, harsh and abusive parents report being more annoyed and irritated by infant cries than non-abusive parents (Frodi and Lamb, 1980); mental health workers can experience increased irritability toward others’ needs as a symptom of work-related stress and burnout (Figley, 2002); and in research on public atti…”

“Compassion fatigue, on the other hand, is highly treatable, once identified, and is seldom chronic (Figley, 2002).”

“In recent years, empathy has been deemed one of the core clinical competencies for health professionals (22– 26) and a crucial aspect of building patient relationships and effective service provision (24,26).”

“Figley (2002) suggested that in the process of helping traumatized or suffering clients, therapists became fatigued and stressed as they supported and empathized with the client (secondary traumatic stress).”

“Figley (2002 ) stated, “The very act of being compassionate and empathic extracts a cost under most circumstances.”

“Research has suggested methods for dealing with these problems such as more effectively managing caseloads and developing methods for enhancing satisfaction (Figley, 2002).”

“…clinically with complex trauma is shown to being personally and relationally demanding on clinicians and, thus, having a significant impact on them, as compared with a nonfragile process (Figley, 2002a, 2002b; Hernández, Gangsei, & Engstrom, 2007; Staub & Vollhardt, 2008; Tedeschi & Calhoun, 2004).”

“…Nathan, 1996), there is a growing body of literature on stress and burnout among practitioners (Coffey, Dugdill, & Tattersall, 2004; Collins, 2008; Figley, 2002), including studies that offer new understandings about the neurobiological impact of stress (Perry, 1997, 2013; Seigal, 2012; Van der…”

“Authors have conducted numerous studies in which they investigated the emotional, cognitive, and social costs of working with clients who have experienced trauma (Adams, Boscarino, & Figley, 2006; Craig & Sprang, 2010; Cunningham, 1999, 2003; Figley, 2002; Linton, Alkema, & Davies, 2008; McCann & Pearlman, 1990; Pearl…”

“Compassion fatigue is described by Figley (2002) as a type of burnout experienced by psychotherapists when there is emotional investment or empathic engagement with clients, but no recourse for managing the emotional cost of that investment over time. It often occurs when a psychotherapist has the ability to be empath…”

“Interventions may relieve the symptoms of compassion fatigue; however, the symptoms of burnout may require a job or career change (Figley 2002).”

“…component of compassion fatigue relates to feelings of hopelessness, anxiety, irritability, aggression, cynicism, and difficulty in performing one’s job effectively or dealing with stressors from work (Figley, 2002; Finzi-Dottan & Kormosh, 2018) that are related to caregiving responsibilities.”

“Compassion fatigue is the cost of caring and is defined as the stress response common among healthcare providers [7,10], which may considerably affect their ability to nurture [11].”

“…number of traumatized clients on caseload, personal history of trauma, occupational stress, and working in inpatient settings” (Craig & Sprang, 2010; Figley, 1995, 2002; Ray, Wong, White, & Heaslip, 2013; Sprang, Clark, & Whitt-Woosley, 2007; Way, VanDeusen, Martin, Applegate, & Jandle, 2004).”

“The term is often used interchangeably with compassion fatigue (Figley, 2002; Joinson, 1992) and is also synonymous with vicarious traumatisation (McCann and Pearlman, 1990), despite subtle differences in definition and use existing (Elwood et al., 2011; Stamm, 1997).”

“Empathy may thus be considered as a double-edged sword, promoting caring and compassion but at the same time increasing vulnerability of the physician (Decety et al. 2010; Figley 2002; Sabo 2006).”

“Compassion fatigue, also known as secondary or vicarious trauma, is defined as the formal caregiver’s reduced capacity or interest in being empathic or bearing the suffering of clients, and is the natural consequence of behaviors and emotions resulting from knowing about a traumatizing event experienced or suffered by…”

“Whilst not particularly evident in this study, ‘compassion fatigue’ (Figley, 2002) related to MHPs becoming desensitised as a result of engaging with SUs experiencing trauma and subsequent ‘burnout’ have previously been noted and merit further investigation in future studies (Newell et al. 2010;…”

“Figley (2002) pioneered the concept of compassion fatigue, which is described as the secondary traumatic stress and refers to the emotions and behaviour by social workers when helping the clients, and may be manifested in the demonstration of aloofness, coldness, depersonalisation and lack of…”

“However, the development of STS symptoms seems to be strongly influenced by subjective factors, among which empathy (Figley, 1995, 1999, 2002; Ludick & Figley, 2017; MacRitchie, 2006; Rauvola et al., 2019) and cognitive processing of trauma (Dutton & Rubinstein, 1995; McCann & Pearlman, 1990;…”

“Therapists who are exposed to their clients’ trauma can show various levels of secondary traumatization relating to different types of variables (e.g., personal variables and professional-organizational variables; Figley, 2002).”

“체적 증상을 불러일으킬 수 있으며 면역 체계를 약화시키 [10], 고 간호사의 삶의 질을 저하시킨다 이와 같이 공감 피로 [15].”

“1) and may deplete professionals of the empathy and emotional energy critical for a therapeutic relationship with a client or patient (Figley, 2002; Adams, Boscarino, & Figley 2006); while vicarious trauma includes ‘reexperiencing the traumatic events, avoidance/numbing of reminders and persistent arousal’ from care s…”

“empathic doctors are at the greatest risk of emotional burnout [22, 23], whilst other research indicates the most empathic clinicians are also the most resilient [24].”

“…definition of PTSD can be seen to supersede other established terms such as ‘Secondary Traumatic Stress’, and ‘Compassion Fatigue’ (Figley, 1995, cited in Figley, 2002), as the most appropriate term to define the potential adverse impact on police of repeated exposure to sexual offence material.”

“STS is the stress derived from helping a traumatised or suffering patient in a healthcare setting (Figley, 2002).”

“Finally, ‘compassion fatigue’ (CF), often used interchangeably with STS and VT, encapsulates emotional and physical fatigue as a consequence of chronic use of empathy when working with trauma survivors (Figley, 2002).”

“…at work (Hobfoll et al., 2018; ten Brummelhuis & Bakker, 2012). t Clinical psychology explores self-compassion and how it mediates individual mental well-being and adverse outcomes of caregiving and being near suffering, such as traumatic stress or compassion fatigue (Figley, 2002; Raab, 2014).”

“Compassion fatigue is the product of bearing witness to the suffering of others resulting in a reduced ability or capacity to be present with others, and feelings of powerlessness, isolation, and confusion (Figley, 2002).”

“…workplace quality, client characteristics, personal therapy, supervision and social support are consistently related to various positive outcomes for therapists, including compassion satisfaction and post-traumatic growth (Figley 2002; Kraus 2005; Linley and Joseph 2007; Lawson and Myers 2011).”

“…that decreases this quality in those tasked with helping people to recover from trauma could have far-reaching adverse effects; if caring professionals can no longer display compassion and empathy, interactions with clients may become nontherapeutic and potentially harmful (Figley, 2002a).”

“In addition, researchers should learn the importance of self-care and avoidance of "compassion fatigue" [16].”

“…such as experiencing symptoms of trauma via the traumatic experiences of others, this is often discussed in the literature using different terminology, including secondary traumatic stress (STS) (Figley, 1995), compassion fatigue (Figley, 2002) and vicarious trauma (McCann and Pearlman, 1990.)”

“Taken together, the results likely reflect that less empathic lawyers tended to feel stressed, depersonalised and less work accomplished, whereas empathic lawyers tended to experience emotional-exhaustion likely due to the burden that empathy places upon them (Figley 2002).”

“…compassion fatigue, and here I argue that this suffering should also be considered under the umbrella of comorbidity because it may have pervasive negative effects on the social relationships and mental health of the caregiver, the person receiving care, and other social actors (Figley 1995, 2002).”

“This may be due to the professionals’ need to invest in the patients’ painful emotions, thus driving themselves to exhaustion [31].”

“Compassion fatigue is defined as the physical, emotional, social and spiritual exhaustion which causing widespread reduction of empathizing, caregiving and energy in caregivers[1].”

“[27] This seems plausible given that only one severely stressful event may result in compassion fatigue whereas burnout tends to develop gradually through an accumulation of stressors over time.”