Compassion Fatigue and Our Role as Advocates

As advocates we spend a lot of time discussing vicarious trauma. It is easy to see how hearing other people’s stories of abuse and trauma can negatively effect our beliefs and relationships. However, we often forget that we also are very susceptible to compassion fatigue. Compassion fatigue and vicarious trauma can overlap and often look quite alike. It is almost as if one is the flu and the other is a bad cold. A little hard to tell what is happening at the time, but both seriously affect our ability to be objective and compassion when working with victims of domestic violence and sexual assault.

The website http://www.compassionfatigue.org/ states the following about caregivers who are experiencing compassion fatigue:

“Studies confirm that caregivers play host to a high level of compassion fatigue. Day in, day out, workers struggle to function in care giving environments that constantly present heart wrenching, emotional challenges. Affecting positive change in society, a mission so vital to those passionate about caring for others, is perceived as elusive, if not impossible. This painful reality, coupled with first-hand knowledge of society's flagrant disregard for the safety and well being of the feeble and frail, takes its toll on everyone from full time employees to part time volunteers. Eventually, negative attitudes prevail.”

One side affect of compassion fatigue that often occurs is decreased lack of empathy towards those whom we are working to support. Often I will begin to hear comments about victim/survivors such as “this person doesn’t seem to be trying hard enough,” “she is using too many of our resources,” “she ‘should’ be ____________ (whatever it is the advocate feels that she should be doing, rather than what the victim/survivor feels empowered to do).”

In the article Changing the Script: Thinking about our relationships with shelter residents by Margaret Hobart at the Washington State Coalition Against Domestic Violence http://www.wscadv.org/resourcesAlpha.cfm?aId=D00E1151-C298-58F6-025BBD925C7F8AF8, Ms. Hobart ask us to take a look at the type of relationships we may develop with shelter guests (and other victim/survivors). When we fall into one of the less productive relationships such as parent/child, teacher/student, drill sergeant/recruit, employer/employee, or rescuer/victim it is often because we have become overwhelmed by the needs of the survivor or we have created our own agenda of what we feel should be her focus. We forget about recognizing strengths and helping the person find their inner power and we become directive rather than collaborative in helping the woman move forward. Or, we may able to put our own agenda aside and be collaborative but we still end up being resentful and disappointed because she did not follow through on suggestions we made.

Self care, of course, needs to be a priority and there are many resources that talk about compassion fatigue and vicarious trauma and self care. I would also like to suggest that when you are feeling the effects of compassion fatigue i.e excessive blaming, bottled up emotions, isolation, complaining, compulsive behaviors and poor self care, that you take time for self reflection using Margaret Hobart’s article and determining if your expectations of victim/survivors are based on the role you are playing in their life or on a collaborative/team approach to support and advocacy. Being aware of our own perceptions and triggers is also very important in managing compassion fatigue. Are you having difficulty working with survivors who have mental health or substance abuse issues because of feeling overwhelmed or unequipped? Has your agency lost personnel and you are feeling overwhelmed by your workload and it is impacting your attitude toward victims and co-workers? Or are you spending so much time in a care-taking role that it may be time to look at your professional boundaries and the impact it has on you and your relationship with victim/survivors?

Being aware of how compassion fatigue affects us and the people for whom we advocate is vital to our continuing to be effective in our jobs and the community.