Workshop – Compassion Fatigue: Its causes and cures

Many people find that people and relationships can be tiring. When we need to provide support, love and care for others it can be exhausting, leaving us depleted and sometimes even resentful. We can feel ill-equipped, vulnerable, and perhaps overwhelmed. Even if this doesn’t apply to you, there will be people close to you who feel this way.

If this was a problem in a pre-pandemic world, how much more severe is it now, when social distancing, masks, vaccinations and testing have become a normal part of social interaction? So many people in our world are more emotionally and physically ill than they were 12 months ago. In addition there are millions, yes millions, who are facing the multi-faceted challenges of unexpected bereavement or suffering significant changes in health to those they love.

How will we respond? It is easy to try and ignore the need, to stand back, to disconnect ourselves from these life experiences. This semi-successful but always stressful approach is a vain attempt to achieve self-preservation. Is there an alternative? Is it possible to love well in the midst of such brokenness, without becoming increasingly broken ourselves? And can we help others do the same?

Compassion fatigue is a term that describes the exhaustion of trying to empathize, to love, to support, when we have run out of our own capacity to do so. We start to find people and their stories exhausting, to want to avoid the phone or the next Zoom call. It is common in professions such as therapists, counsellors, doctors, pastors, etc. But it is increasingly becoming a problem for any who are willing to notice the people around them.

The capacity to manage compassion fatigue is becoming a fundamental life skill for 21st century living. In this workshop Peter Holmes and Susan Williams will introduce compassion fatigue, the damage it creates and what can be done to avoid becoming burnt out by other people’s need. They will use psychological, sociological and theological perspectives to look beneath the surface at the mechanics of our emotional responses when we are around people in need. They will explore what we can each do to love well without it becoming a personal emotional hemorrhage.

We will include practical steps not only to recover from burnout and exhaustion, but to prevent it occurring. You will discover how to avoid the overwhelm of another’s story. You will leave with tools to maintain your own emotional health and resilience in the face of need. And you will feel more equipped to respond to those close to you who do not understand the compassion fatigue they are suffering from.

Time
This workshop will run Thursday, January 21st from 6:30-9:30pm.

Location
The Commons at Baxter & Love
1794 Baxter Lane East
Bozeman, MT 59178
This workshop will also be streamed live online.
To receive the link, please preregister.

Price
We never want finances to be a barrier to people 
receiving the help they need in finding healing.
Given this, there is no fee for this workshop.
We will however, be taking donations to help cover our costs and to support the ongoing work of Finding Freedom
You can donate at the workshop or in advance when you preregister.
(Finding Freedom is a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit organization.)

Registration

We value your preregistration so we can be prepared to welcome you.
Please use this link to preregister.
If you have any questions or trouble preregistering, email us or call our office at 406-570-7040.

More Information
*Doors will open at 6pm on Thursday, January 21st.
*Due to Covid-19 we will be encouraging social distancing.
*The Commons also requires the use of masks, 
unless you are seated in the auditorium.
*We will not be serving refreshments, so please feel free to 
bring your own snacks.
*Bottled water will be available.
*Help us spread the word. Download and share the workshop brochure.