Help For The Helpers:
Wellbeing & Compassion Fatigue Education For Animal Welfare Organizations
The Compassion in Balance Program offers flexible, year-round education and resources specifically designed to support the well-being of animal welfare and protection professionals.
Animal welfare work is meaningful, rewarding, and emotionally demanding. Compassion fatigue, grief, trauma exposure, moral stress, conflict, and chronic stress come with the territory, but with skills and support, we can navigate these challenges.
CiB gives staff and leaders practical tools to better understand stress, build compassion resilience skills, and create a more supportive workplace culture.
Whether you're looking for an optional wellbeing benefit for staff or a more structured team learning experience, CiB can be adapted to fit your organization's goals, capacity, and culture.
“I'm the shelter’s point person for CiB...I'm so excited to participate in and facilitate this program.
I am loving the content and am already getting so much out of it!”
- U.S. Shelter Manager
Why Organizations Choose CiB
Supporting staff wellbeing isn't a one-time training or an occasional wellness activity. It's an ongoing practice.
The CiB Program was designed to help organizations build that practice in realistic and sustainable ways.
Unlike generic workplace wellness trainings, CiB addresses the unique challenges and joys of animal welfare work.
Every lesson, tool, and resource was created specifically for the people who care for and protect animals.
CiB supports organizations that want to:
- Help staff better understand the impact of high-stress work
- Teach practical skills for managing stress
- Strengthen supportive relationships within teams
- Equip supervisors and leaders with trauma-informed support tools
- Normalize conversations about wellbeing and compassion fatigue
- Create opportunities for year-round learning and reflection
- Build a workplace culture that supports both people and animals
"This has been such an impactful program for our staff that we're renewing for another year!"
-Shelter Manager, U.S. Animal Shelter
Help Staff Build Compassion Resilience Skills
Program Outcome #1
Understand Stress and Compassion Fatigue
Participants learn how high-stress and trauma-exposed work affects thoughts, emotions, behaviors, and professional functioning. They develop greater self-awareness and learn evidence-informed approaches to supporting well-being at work.
Program Outcome #2
Build Practical Wellbeing Skills
Staff learn skills they can use every day, including healthy boundaries, emotional regulation and coping strategies, self-care and peer-care practices, and approaches for navigating difficult situations with less reactivity and greater confidence and compassion.
Program Outcome #3
Strengthen Supportive
Connections
Teams and leaders learn strategies for fostering trust, improving communication, supporting one another during challenging times, and creating a more respectful, compassionate workplace culture.
"Our Animal Control staff have really enjoyed the team trainings - it’s been challenging but relevant and important.
One employee commented, “This is actually good because you’re telling me helpful things and you’re not telling me to take a bubble bath.” I am calling this a HUGE success. Thank you!"
-Ashleigh, Training & Development, U.S. Animal Care + Control
What's Included?
The CiB Program includes three flexible components that can be used together or independently, depending on your organization's needs and capacity.
Self-Paced Online Course
A comprehensive continuing education course that teaches foundational compassion fatigue, stress injury, and wellbeing concepts. Staff can learn at their own pace and return to the material whenever they need it.
Resilient Teams Training Series
Six ready-to-use team trainings designed to facilitate meaningful conversations and skill-building activities. These trainings can be facilitated internally and adapted to fit your team's schedule and goals.
Comprehensive Resource Library
An ever-growing library of practical, "just-in-time" resources designed specifically for animal welfare professionals. Whether someone is navigating grief, conflict, boundaries, difficult decisions, or workplace stress, they'll find support when they need it most.
How Flexible Is CiB?
One size does not fit all when it comes to supporting staff wellbeing.
Some organizations use CiB as an optional employee wellbeing benefit. Others build it into staff meetings, onboarding, leadership development, or continuing education initiatives.
The CiB Program offers multiple implementation pathways, from low-structure to highly integrated approaches, so you can choose what makes sense for your organization's time, capacity, and goals.
There is no "right" way to use CiB. Start where you are and grow from there.
Take a Tour!
"The self-study course was animal shelter-specific, and the instructor truly understands the needs of our staff.
We thought it was very effective...
The course helps us to have better conversations with staff and make effective referrals to our employee assistance program and other resources."
– Executive Director, U.S. Animal Shelter
Leadership Matters
The most successful wellbeing initiatives are supported by leadership.
While CiB is designed to be flexible and easy to implement, organizational support matters. Leaders, supervisors, managers, and HR play an important role in encouraging participation, making space for conversations about wellbeing, and helping compassion resilience become part of the workplace culture.
You don't need to have all the answers or create an elaborate wellness program. CiB provides the tools and resources; you provide the commitment to supporting your people.
What Makes CiB Different?
The Compassion in Balance Program was created by Jessica Dolce, an animal welfare professional and compassion fatigue educator with decades of experience supporting the people who care for animals.
CiB isn't a generic corporate wellness program adapted for animal welfare. It was built from the ground up for this field by someone who has done the work.
You'll find practical, evidence-informed education and resources addressing topics from grief and conflict to de-escalation skills and supervising staff.
There's something for every team member, from front-line workers to your medical director.
Download a Program FlyerFrequently Asked Questions
Is this counseling or therapy?
How do the different components work together?
How does onboarding work?
How do our people access the platform?
How long will we have access?
Are analytics available?
Are Continuing Education Credits (CEUs) available?
What package sizes are available?
What are the learning outcomes?
Should we enroll everyone?
Are live sessions or webinars included?
Who can I contact for more information?
Ready to Get Started?
Every organization deserves a practical and sustainable way to support the people behind its mission.
The Compassion in Balance Program provides year-round education and resources that can grow alongside your organization's capacity and goals.
Choose the enrollment package that best fits your team or schedule a call if you'd like help determining which option is right for you.
Choose Your Package!
