COMPASSION-BASED
RESILIENCE TRAINING
for Helping Professionals & Activists
Social Workers, Humanitarians, Advocates, Therapists, et al.
Helping professionals as well as advocates of diverse social, animal, and environmental causes are faced with high rates of burnout, secondary traumatization, and other adverse effects on their mental and physical health due to the high level of general stress and unregulated empathic distress exposure at work. Due to their altruistic tendencies, these professionals also tend to easily disregard their own needs and boundaries, and outspend themselves trying to help everyone else. Furthermore, modern professional education for these fields does not include much in the way of resilience or inner peace training. As a result, either people burn out to the point of having to leave the profession altogether (signifying a huge loss to the sector and to those seeking help) or they stay in it but adopt unhealthy and unskillful coping/defensive mechanisms - that can range from hopelessness, disillusionment, and cynicism, to outright rage, destructive behaviors such as substance abuse, contempt, or a general sense of disregard and jadedness.
So how can we bring our hearts into the job - and face to face with immense collective and individual suffering on a daily basis - without burning out?
Psychoeducation, mindfulness, and somatic based practices are proven to increase self-awareness, help self-regulate one's emotional and mental states, and increase one's capacity to handle unpredictable, overwhelming, or uncontrollable situations - all of which are key for achieving greater resilience. Exploring the intricacies of empathy and compassion, as well as our mental, somatic (physical) and nervous system responses, as they play out in our professional roles with honesty and wisdom, can increase our ability to truly be of lasting benefit to those we serve, while staying healthy and grounded ourselves.
Mindfulness, embodiment, and contemplative practices bring us closer to the core of our basic human sanity and goodness and show us a way to keep this vibrant and empathic core alive and nurtured in oneself without burning out - in turn increasing our capacity to ignite and sustain the same flame in the people and beings we are working with in the field.
3-Day Intensives or 6-Week Online Trainings available
tailored to your organization's and employee's needs
Contact Me for Further Information and to Arrange a Training
Individual or unaffiliated group requests also possible.
COURSE CONTENT
Learning Objectives Include:
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Understanding the relationship between serving populations with trauma and effects such as: vicarious or secondary traumatization, burnout, stress, and empathic distress fatigue (this may include exposure to the trauma of animals or the environment)
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Exploring and understanding the difference between compassion and empathy
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Discovering factors that contribute to or hinder resiliency on the job
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Gaining a solid foundation in the following basic mindfulness practices: the four foundations of mindfulness (mindfulness of breath, thoughts, emotions and phenomena), compassion & loving-kindness practice (tonglen & maitri) and mindfulness of body/somatics
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Understanding our nervous system and how to skillfully navigate different states
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Managing our expectations and our resolve in the face of adversity or powerlessness
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Establishing a home routine of self-care and mindfulness practice that can be carried into one's ongoing professional and personal life
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Learning practical tools, models and approaches to regulate oneself during the job
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Building community and creating networks of support, solidarity, and practice
“To identify with others
is to see something of yourself
in them
and to see something of them
in yourself
- even if the only thing you identify with
is the desire
to be free from suffering.”
- Melanie Joy
