Eric Gentry – Certification Training for Compassion Fatigue Professionals

This is an intermediate-Any care provider can take the level certification or course.-Volunteer or professional giving. You can regain your sense of purpose, hope, and joy by becoming a certified compassion fatigue professional.

1. Understanding the historical developments that led to compassion fatigue in the field care giving (e.g., diagnosis and treatment of PTSD being added in DSM-III, vicarious trauma research, burnout research etc.
2. Capability to explain the causes of compassion fatigue using its two main components, secondary traumatic stress (STS) and burnout.
3. Understanding the symptoms and possible effects of compassion fatigue is essential.
4. Expert administration and interpretation of instruments for compassion fatigue assessment for Self and others who are primarily focused on the Pro-QOL (Stamm (2005)
5. Awareness of and ability to narrate one’s own personal/professional history that has lead to negative effects associated with professional and/or volunteer care giving.
6. Recognize the roles that perceived threat, sympathetic nervous system dominance, and self-preservation play in the development of compassion fatigue symptoms.-regulation to reduce current and future effects.
7. Identify the process (i.e. “infection”) of secondary traumatic stress—how does a professional become gradually symptomatic when working with traumatized and suffering others?
8. You should be aware of how to use (a), connection/support, (b) relaxation, (c) exposure/narrative in order to relieve symptoms and prevent secondary traumatic stress.

10. The skillful use of CBT tools (e.g. exposure, relaxation and perceptual modification) to reduce the symptoms of compassion fatigue in your own life.

11. Intentionality and principle are important.-Care giving based on internal locus of control (i.e., care based on the patient) as a method for Resilience and symptom relief.

12. Understanding and articulating the effects of compassion fatigue on professional maturity.

13. The ability to comprehend and articulate the specific steps, trajectory and tasks that are associated with professional maturation. This will help you increase your resilience.

14. Explain and comprehend a model of professional resilience that allows care provider to be functionally and physically healthy without regard to environmental factors “demands” (internal control vs. exterior control).

15. Recognize five (5) key resiliency skills for How to prevent compassion fatigue and how you can use these skills to prevent negative work-Similar effects

16. Demonstrate the ability and creativity to create something for yourself-Plan for professional resilience.