The CiB Program:
Self Study Course
CiB Self Study Course
Practical Skills for Sustaining Yourself in High-Stress Animal Welfare Work
Note: The CiB Program has 3 components: Self Study Course, Team Trainings, and Resource Center, which can be used in various ways to create a learning experience that works best for your organization. The Self Study is not available as a standalone product outside of The CiB Program.
Animal welfare work is meaningful, rewarding, and emotionally demanding. Compassion fatigue, grief, chronic stress, difficult decisions, and challenging interactions are often part of the job. But few people are ever taught how to care for themselves while caring so deeply for others.
The Compassion in Balance Self Study Course was created to help fill that gap.
This self-paced online course provides animal welfare professionals with practical, evidence-informed education and tools for understanding stress, building compassion resilience skills, and sustaining their capacity to care over time.
Whether staff are brand new to animal welfare or have spent decades in the field, this course offers opportunities to learn, reflect, and develop skills that support both personal and professional wellbeing.
Built Specifically for Animal Welfare
This isn't a generic workplace wellness course.
Every lesson, example, and exercise was created with the realities of animal welfare work in mind. We address the unique challenges and joys of caring for animals and the people who care for them.
Topics include:
- Compassion fatigue and compassion satisfaction
- Grief and loss
- Chronic stress and burnout
- Healthy coping strategies
- Boundaries and sustainable self-care practices
- Difficult emotions and challenging situations
- Mindfulness and self-awareness
- Building resilience and recovery practices
- Finding meaning, purpose, and joy in the work
Because the people who care for animals deserve support that reflects their lived experience.
What Participants Will Learn
By the end of the course, participants will have practical tools and strategies to help them:
- Recognize their own signs of stress before they become overwhelming.
- Better understand the emotional impact of high-stress animal welfare work.
- Recover more effectively from difficult days and challenging situations.
- Establish healthier boundaries at work and at home.
- Practice realistic self-care strategies that fit the realities of animal welfare.
- Reconnect with meaning, purpose, and compassion satisfaction.
- Support coworkers and contribute to a more compassionate workplace culture.
- Create a personalized plan for sustaining themselves in this work.
“We love the self-study class! My staff and I have all completed the course and they speak very highly of it.
We did the course on our own and met to have group discussions too. Thank you for the wonderful training!”
- Jennifer, Supervisor, U.S. Animal Shelter
Learn Alone or Learn Together
While participants can complete the course independently, many organizations choose to incorporate the course into:
- Team wellbeing initiatives
- Onboarding new employees
- Professional development plans
- Continuing education (CEUs are available)
The course includes optional group discussion prompts to facilitate meaningful conversations among staff.
Learning doesn't have to happen in isolation. These conversations help participants move beyond simply consuming information and into practicing new skills together.
"I've received positive feedback about the self-study course from the staff, and I know I've gotten a ton out of it myself. I plan to go through each module a few times."
- Director, Chimpanzee Sanctuary
A Course That Has Supported Animal Welfare Professionals Since 2014
Originally launched in 2014, the Compassion in Balance Self Study Course has helped well over 1,000 animal welfare professionals better understand stress, build compassion resilience skills, and sustain themselves in this challenging and meaningful work.
Over the years, the course has evolved to reflect current research, feedback from participants, and the changing needs of animal welfare organizations.
Megan, Volunteer Coordinator, U.S. Animal Shelter
"Compassion in Balance has helped me tremendously. I was on the verge of quitting last year, and I feel like I’m finally in a better place now.
We’ve had compassion fatigue training before, but none of it really focused on working with animals, and it didn’t really make sense.
You’ve bridged the gap for me, and I truly appreciate it!"
What This Course Is (and Isn't)
This course is not therapy, a quick fix for burnout, or a substitute for organizational change.
It is practical, evidence-informed education designed to help participants develop greater self-awareness, learn new wellbeing and resilience skills, and engage in meaningful conversations about the human side of animal welfare work.
Supporting staff wellbeing is an ongoing practice. When individuals and organizations commit to learning and using these tools over time, they can become part of a healthier, more compassionate workplace culture.
What You'll Receive
Participants receive:
- Comprehensive PDF workbook to download and keep
- Individual login and access to class from any device
- Individual assessments
- One year of access to materials online
- Certificate of completion
