Compassion Fatigue in Juvenile Justice

Feb. 24, 2015
Exhaustion. Intrusive thoughts. Nightmares. All of these can be symptoms of Compassion Fatigue or Vicarious (secondary) trauma. Juvenile Justice professionals are susceptible to the negative effects...

It was a bright winter day around 2 pm. The sun shone through the blue sky just barely touched by the gray-white clouds. The temperature outside was brisk but the glass warmed the beams as they hit my face and arms. Sitting at my desk, my eyes scanned the words in front of me. Ten pages into the 78 page file, I just slumped down in my seat. My eyelids were heavy. My shoulders dropped from the position they had been taking up beside my ears. Suddenly I was just exhausted. Although I had gotten plenty of rest the night before, had eaten healthy all day and was in good shape, my mind had decided it was time to shut everything down. I had been reading the intake referral packet for a young man that had suffered through not one, but two neglectful, abusive parents and once he found his way into the system he suffered some more. Now years later he had behaviors born of his trauma and he couldn’t be maintained in the community. His caseworker knew he needed treatment and that is how his story ended up on my desk. That’s when only ten pages in, his story piled with all the stories I had read in the 6 years I’ve worked in residential treatment piled on my years of 9-1-1 calls and worked to shut down my systems. I was suffering from compassion fatigue.

Professionals that work with juveniles, whether in mental health, social work and juvenile justice have the potential to develop compassion fatigue, also known as, vicarious or secondary trauma. So many of the youth we work with have suffered greatly in their lives and regardless of the behaviors that have landed them in front of us, they have harrowing tales. Working with these youth, caring for them, guiding them, keeping them safe and especially working within systems based in retribution, we often find ourselves suffering from symptoms of being a carer of others. The Compassion Fatigue Awareness Project (CFAP) states, “Compassion Fatigue symptoms are normal displays of chronic stress resulting from the care giving work we choose to do. A strong identification with helpless, suffering, or traumatized people or animals is possibly the motive. It is common for such people to hail from a tradition of what Gentry labels: other-directed care giving. Simply put, these are people who were taught at an early age to care for the needs of others before caring for their own needs. Authentic, ongoing self-care practices are absent from their lives.” Those of us who have gone into justice may have a different description of our carer tendencies referring to the sheepdog analogy but at its heart it is about caring about others even to the detriment of our own well-being. 

CFAP recommends “Ten Laws” to help carers mitigate fatigue and live healthy lives both on the job and off. Here are the “Ten Laws Governing Healthy Caregiving”:

1. Sustain your compassion: When working with juveniles who are often vulgar, violent and downright offensive, it can be easy to stop seeing the vulnerable, traumatized child within. It is easy to get cynical and jaded thinking they are all the same and that there is nothing you can do to make any kind of difference in them now or ever. Try and take a step back and remember where they came from and what might be at the heart of their behaviors. Remember most people are inherently good and they just need to be held accountable and guided to appropriate behaviors.

2. Practice authentic/sustainable self care daily: Find out what you need to relax and refill your cup. Everyone has different things that they enjoy. It might be hiking or painting or singing karaoke. Whatever it is make sure you are taking care of you every day.

3. Build a support system: Having someone to talk to when you just feel burned out and cannot find your compassion is extremely important when you work in a field filled with trauma. Knowing who you can turn to when you just need to vent builds your resiliency. Surround yourself with people who make you feel good, who support you and who can tell you honestly if your work is beginning to affect you negatively.

4. Create a work/life balance: “Don’t take your work home with you.” Carers are told this time and time again, but in practice it is very hard to do. Regardless, it is very important to try. You should have interests outside of work. Even though this field thrives on over-time make sure you take time off. You cannot take care of others if you don’t take care of yourself. You will have nothing to give.

5. Apply empathic discernment: Described by Dr. Charles Figley as, “effectiveness in accurately selecting and using the best empathic response for both client and self.” It helps balance and increase resources, affect and self-care and is the gateway to determining how much fatigue and satisfaction can be derived from the work of caring for others.

The last five are: Recognize the humor, Learn to let go, Acknowledge your successes, Remain optimistic and Elevate levels of compassion satisfaction. You can learn more about these and how professionals working with others can recognize compassion fatigue, as well as, combat it in healthy, proactive ways on the CFAP website. The UCLA also offers information, courses and free guided studies through their Mindful Awareness Research Center (MARC) which has a focus on compassion and its affect on carers. We all choose to work in careers which focus on helping others. We must turn that focus inward first for us to be able to offer anything outward.

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