Compassion Fatigue Resources for Organizations
with Jessica Dolce, MS CCFE
Animal welfare work is deeply rewarding, but it can also come with high costs to those who provide such valuable services. Staff engaged in animal welfare work are particularly susceptible to secondary traumatic stress (STS) because of the vulnerable nature of the animals they care for, the high volume and unpredictable nature of their jobs, and a relative lack of psychological protection. This inevitably takes a toll on staff well-being and the organization’s ability to deliver high quality care and make an impact.
Staff self-care is a necessary component of increasing resilience and reducing the impact of trauma exposure, but not sufficient on its own.
Along with individual efforts, there must be organizational investments. There are a number of practices & policies organizations can implement, over time, to reduce occupational risk and promote staff resilience in order to create a healthier workplace.
Available Resources:

Assessment for Organizations
There are a number of practices & policies organizations can implement over time to reduce stress and distress and promote staff resilience.
The first step to create a healthier workplace? Take an assessment!

Individual Assessments
There are a variety of assessment tools for individual use.
Below you'll find the Professional Quality of Life Evaluation, adapted for animal care work, and the ACEs Questionnaire for your personal use.

Adoption Counseling Support
Adopters Welcome: The mind-body connection. Learn how organizations and individuals can lay the groundwork for an open adoptions approach.

Debriefing 101
Learn more about different types of debriefing, including the four steps of low impact debriefing, to support safe, effective conversations about the impact of our work.

Stress First Aid
Workbooks and implementation guides to help your organization adopt the Stress First Aid framework!

Staff Onboarding
Understand the basics of compassion fatigue in animal welfare work with this free 15 minute recorded webinar and PDF - perfect for onboarding new employees or as a refresher.
Organizational Assessment
Taking an assessment is a solid first step in creating a healthier workplace.
Currently, there are no assessments specific to animal welfare organizations, but the Vicarious Trauma—Organizational Readiness Guide (VT–ORG) is an excellent tool for shelters, animal control, and veterinary clinics to utilize.
Making time for this assessment is an important step in taking organizational responsibility for addressing compassion fatigue, secondary traumatic stress, and vicarious trauma.

Understanding the Assessment:
What is this assessment?
What is vicarious trauma?
How will it help us?
Who created it?
What does it assess?
Who takes it?
How should we share it and collect the data?
Where can we learn more?
VT-ORG Victim Services Assessment
A good fit for animal shelter, animal care, or advocacy organizations.
VT-ORG Law Enforcement Assessment
This is a better fit for animal protection and investigation services.
For More Information
For more on how to use, distribute, and collect data with the assessments, please see the Office for Victims of Crime's website.
You're off to a great start!
If you'd like help addressing some of the gaps in your assessment, you may wish to consider The Compassion in Balance Program's training options for your organization.
Individual Assessments
The following assessments are intended for personal use only, as tools to support increased self-awareness. If shared with staff, their results are always confidential. These are NOT to be used to evaluate staff during hiring or performance reviews.
Professional Quality of Life Evaluation
The ProQOL is the most commonly used measure of the negative and positive affects of helping others who experience suffering and trauma.
The ProQOL has sub-scales for compassion satisfaction, burnout and compassion fatigue. This version has been adapted for animal care work.
Adverse Childhood Experience Questionnaire for Adults
The ACE Questionnaire for Adults was adapted from the work of Kaiser Permanente and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
A version of the tool has been compiled by the Office of the California Surgeon General and the Department of Health Care Services, in consultation with the ACEs Aware Clinical Advisory Subcommittee.
For more info, please visit the CDC website.