Positively Influencing
Compassion Fatigue
Dr. Jeanine Ward-Roof, Dean of Students
Dr. Kathy Guthrie, Assistant Professor
Kat Callahan, Graduate Student
The Florida State University
2012 NASPA Annual Conference s Phoenix, Arizona s March 10–14, 2012
What is Compassion Fatigue?
• Johnson (1992)
– A unique form of burnout
– Coined the term compassion fatigue in article discussing
nurses reactions to handling constant emergencies
• Figley (1995;2002) & Stamm (2010)
– Reduced capacity to be empathic to those we serve
– Due to exposure to suffering
– Two facets
• Secondary trauma
• Job burnout
Compassion Fatigue
• Figley (1982;2002) & Stamm (2010)
– Term Compassion Fatigue well-known in fields of
psychology and traumatology
•
Hoffman, etc. al (2007)
– Recovery rate is faster than burnout with appropriate
interventions
• Kanter (2007)
– Treatment for compassion fatigue is non-specific
Compassion Fatigue
and Student Affairs
• Research focused in health fields but believe parallels
can be made to Student Affairs workers.
• Bender (2009), Boehman (2007) & Lorden (2009)
– Retention of student affairs professionals is low
• Questions
– As Student Affairs work becomes more complex, is
compassion fatigue a contributing factor to the retention
rates?
– How can one manage environments to lessen compassion
fatigue?
Research Methodology
• Purpose:
– To explore perceptions of student affairs professionals of the
compassion fatigue concept.
• Online study included pilot and full study
– Random sampling of 2000 NASPA members from across the Nation
• 184 responded
– Collected demographic information and initial reactions, opinions and
options for further involvement in the study
• Two phases
– Qualitative survey
– Interviews
Participant Demographics
• Institution
– Type
•
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Public – 63%
Private – 30%
2-yr. –3%
4-yr. – 55%
Rural – 12%
Urban – 22%
– Size
• Small-under 5000 – 19%
• Medium-5,001-15,000 – 28%
• Large-over 15,001 – 52%
• Gender
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Females – 57%
Male – 42%
• Career
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0-10 years – 24%
11-20 years – 37%
21+ years – 30%
• Sampling of Titles:
– VPSA, Dean of Students, Faculty
members, Greek Life, New Student and
Family Programs, Student Affairs
Coordinators, Hall Directors, Activity
Coordinators and Academic Advisors
Survey Results
• Results suggest
– Little is known about the concept of compassion fatigue
• 52 respondents specifically stated they did not fully understand
the concept
– “I have not heard of this concept before today”
– “I have very little understanding of this concept”
• Three main themes emerged from research:
– Student Affairs profession is not fully aware of compassion fatigue
concept
– Professional burnout is tangentially associated with compassion fatigue
– Methods to manage compassion fatigue vary
Survey Results
• Participants responded:
– Own awareness is highest
• 53% responded high or very high
– Institutional awareness is low
• 85% responded low or very low
– Awareness within the profession is low
• 67% responded low or very low
Survey Results
• Answering “What is your perception of the influence of
compassion fatigue in the student affairs profession?
– “I don’t think I have every heard of this concept, but it
makes sense that it exists and I certainly witness times
when I believe my colleagues experience this.”
– “I don’t think there is much awareness of the concept of
compassion fatigue in student affairs.”
– “The concept makes sense, but [is] not formally talked
about or discussed.”
Survey Results
• Answering “What is your perception of the influence of
compassion fatigue in the student affairs profession?”
– “I think people mistake compassion fatigue for burnout
and vice versa. I know I combine these concepts incorrectly
all of the time”
– Professionals stated a clear cause-and-effect relationship
between burnout and compassion fatigue
• “Burnout is a problem for Student Affairs Professionals, which
leads to compassion fatigue.”
• “I think burnout results in high compassion fatigue and leads to
higher turnover rates. I think it makes professional less effective”
Survey Results
• Answering “How do you MANAGE environments
that may lead to compassion fatigue?”
– Self-management of compassion fatigue was higher
than office management
• 83% indicated self had high to very high ability to cope with
elements that potentially foster compassion fatigue
• 50% indicated office had high to very high and 50% indicated
office had low to very low ability to cope with elements that
potentially foster compassion fatigue
Survey Results
• Answering “How do you MANAGE environments that may
lead to compassion fatigue?”
– “Management of compassion fatigue is the ultimate challenge,
particularly those in high level leadership positions. I am always
looking for new methods”
– “I have no idea how to manage it. It is challenging, this is for
sure.”
– “I manage through self-reflection activities. It is important to
remember why we do what we do and to not lose sight of the
educational moment even if it appears that we feel like a broken
record.”
Survey Results – Phase 2
• Participants were asked to describe:
– Reason for ratings of office awareness,
institutional awareness and student affairs
professional awareness of compassion fatigue
– How compassion fatigue manifests in Student
Affairs
– How we can manage and eliminate compassion
fatigue
Survey Results – Phase 2
• Framework – What is compassion fatigue?
– Never heard of compassion fatigue
– Compassion fatigue equals burnout
– Compassion fatigue is:
• “burnout is a sense of finality, fatigue is when the
candle is flickering and [you wonder] how to get it out
of the wind and to have healthy ways to manage”
Survey Results – Phase 2
• Answering “How does compassion fatigue manifest?”
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Impatience with student problems
“quicker to judge”
Self pity and sharing it with everyone
“No communication”
Incivility
“Jaded”
“Light leaves your eyes”
Addiction to work
Burnout and leaving the field
Compassion fatigue impacts the office dynamics
Survey Results – Phase 2
• Major Themes
– Student Affairs is a 24/7 job and most of us feel the
need to match our lifestlye spending 60-80 hours
working, checking email, texting with students, going
to events (especially in housing and student activities)
– “We had to do it, so new professionals have to” mind
set
– Talk about wellness, but no follow-through
– We are losing some of the best professionals to
burnout
– When people are fatigued they cannot contribute to
the team as well, affects dynamics of the staff
Survey Results – Phase 2
• Answering “How can we manage and eliminate compassion
fatigue?”
– More information about compassion fatigue
– Manual for supervisors on compassion fatigue
• Methods to train new staff, how to prevent and eliminate compassion
fatigue, provide safe environments
– Encourage the field to “talk” about it more
– Walk the talk – be a role model for students and new
professionals.
– Encourage each other – be accountable to one another
Implications
• Should not shy away from topic, but have more
conversation about how this affects our profession and
professionals working in this area.
• Being more aware of compassion fatigue may lead to
increased work satisfaction
• Developing strategies for dealing with compassion fatigue
may lead to lower turnover of student affairs professionals
• More research is needed on ways to raise awareness about
and reduce levels of compassion fatigue
Discussion
– Create a plan for addressing compassion fatigue
on a personal level and within a work
environment
Irrational Beliefs and Conclusions
• Selected Irrational Beliefs of Student Affairs Workers (author unknown)
– My job is my life.
– In my position, I must be totally competent, knowledgeable, and able
to help everyone. I must always perform at a peak level with a lot of
energy and enthusiasm.
– Getting any form of negative feedback indicates that there is
something wrong with what I am doing.
– Faculty, students, and staff are by their nature difficult. They should
be more involved in my program.
– To be able to accomplish my job for my own sense of self-worth, I
must be liked and respected by everyone with whom I work.
– My negative feelings about my job and the work environment come
from external pressures. Therefore, there is nothing I can do to relieve
the feelings of depression, hostility and hopelessness that are
contributing to my burnout.
Resources
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Bender, B. E. (2009). Job satisfaction in student affairs (2009). NASPA Journal, 46(4), 553-565.
Boehman, J. (2007). Affective commitment among student affairs professionals. NASPA Journal, 44(2),
307-325.
Figley, C.R. (Ed.) (1995). Compassion Fatigue: Secondary Traumatic Stress Disorders from Treating the
Traumatized. New York: Brunner/Mazel.
Figley, C.R. (1995). Compassion fatigue as a secondary traumatic stress disorder: An overview. In C.R.
Figley (Ed.), Compassion fatigue: Coping with secondary traumatic stress disorder in those who treat
the traumatized (p. 1-20). New York: Brunner.
Figley, C.R. (2002). Compassion fatigue and the psychotherapist’s chromic lack of self care. Journal of
Clinical Psychology, 58(11), 1433-1441.
Hoffman, S., Palladino, J.M., Barnett, J. (2007). Compassion fatigue as a theoretical framework to help
understand burnout among special education teachers. Journal of Ethnographic and Qualitative
Research, 2, 15-22.
Kanter, J. (2007). Compassion fatigue and secondary traumatization: A second look. Clinical Social Work
Journal, 35, 289-293.
Lorden, L. P. (2009). Attrition in the student affairs profession (2009). NASPA Journal, 35(3), 207-216.
Stamm, B. (2002). Measuring compassion satisfaction as well as fatigue: Development history of the
compassion satisfaction and fatigue test. In C.R. Figley (Ed.), Treating Compassion Fatigue (pp. 107-122).
New York: Brunner-Routledge.
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