Full day workshop (5 hours)

Beyond balance: Professional and Personal self-care for counsellors

Compassion fatigue is a term used to describe a unique form of emotional burnout that may
result from our close emotional contact with other people’s emotional pain, stress and trauma.
This presentation will include an overview of literature describing how helping professionals
can be impacted by their work, including:

o Discussion of the concepts of compassion fatigue, secondary traumatic stress and
vicarious trauma
o The difference between burnout and compassion fatigue
o The science involved in the transmission of emotion between people
o Signs of compassion fatigue
o Risk and protective factors
o Self assessment tools and self-care plans
o Practical strategies that promote resiliency and self-care at the individual,
professional group and organizational level

This engaging full-day presentation will include critical information for those working closely with other people's emotional stress and trauma. The workshop includes a review of literature describing how helping professionals can be psychologically impacted by their work including real life examples of signs and symptoms.  Risk and protective factors will be discussed, and self-assessment tools provided.  Participants will learn about the science involved in the transmission of emotion between people, and will increase their awareness of the need for professional boundaries. 

Half-day workshop

Self-care begins with self: Creating awareness and maintaining balance
Understanding who we are is a critical step in establishing boundaries and developing a system of self-care that may reduce our risk for compassion fatigue, or vicarious trauma. This presentation will include an overview of literature describing how helping professionals can be psychologically impacted by their work, and will offer an overview of strategies that support self-care at the individual level.

Keynote address (60-90 minutes)
This inspirational address will provide important insight into the risks and the benefits of working with people, and will encourage an atmosphere of honesty, humour and compassion in the workplace.Participants will learn the importance of mindfulness and other practical strategies that promote self care and resiliency in helping professionals or caregivers.

Fee information is available upon request.

Contact Michelle Hamilton: michelle@beyond-balance.com

Download a workshops brochure

Workshops can be designed to meet your organizational needs.
Fees do not include travel, meals or accommodation expenses.
Mileage will be charged at the Alberta Government rate.