Overcoming Burnout and Compassion Fatigue in Schools

<p>This book examines the cumulative effects of working with high trauma populations as they pertain to education settings. This text incorporates current research, anecdotal stories, and workbook pages so that practitioners are properly informed on how to identify and employ protective practices when it comes to burnout and compassion fatigue.</p><p>Educators rarely receive training that prepares them for working with children and youth who are the victims of neglect, abuse, poverty, and loss. Education professionals who are already overburdened with an overwhelming number of job-related tasks can find themselves depleted due to their care and concern for their most vulnerable students. As a result, educators experience the physical and emotional symptoms of burnout and compassion fatigue. Appropriate for both young and experienced educators, this important text provides a clear and concise approach to the topic of burnout and compassion fatigue that engages the reader in a journey of self-reflection, highlighting potential signs and symptoms of burnout, as well as examining how the school environment and individual characteristics might collide to put educators at risk. </p><p>Most importantly, this book provides guidance and resources to assist educators in implementing both individual and organizational practices that promote long-term resilience and self-care. To be at their most effective, educators must be able to care for themselves while also caring for their students.</p> <p><em>List of Figures</em></p><p><em>List of Tables</em></p><p>1 – Introduction </p><p>2 – The Developmental Impact of Trauma </p><p>3 – Risk Factors That Create the Perfect Storm </p><p>4 – Burnout: Death by a Thousand Cuts </p><p>5 – Compassion Fatigue: Sick, Tired, and Depleted </p><p>6 – Compassion Satisfaction: You’re Pretty Darn Awesome! </p><p>7 – Follow the Yellow Brick Road… to Recovery! </p><p> <i>Appendix A - Assessing Risk Factors that Contribute to the Development of Burnout and Compassion Fatigue </i></p><p><i> Appendix B - The Professional Quality of Life (ProQOL) Survey </i></p><p><i> Appendix C - The Four Quadrant Model of Trauma Self-Care </i></p><p><i> Appendix D - Mindfulness Exercises </i></p><p><i> Appendix E - Narrative Technique </i></p><p><i> Appendix F – Self-Care Plan Diagram </i></p><p><i> Appendix G - Retelling a Students’ Story: Low-Impact Debriefing Strategies</i></p><p><i>Index</i></p>