Compassion Fatigue Resources

Animal Welfare Services encourages everyone in the animal research community to take steps to care for their emotional, physical, and mental health. 

Compassion Fatigue

Repeated exposure to the pain or trauma of animals comes at a cost to the caregiver's emotional, physical, and mental health. We refer to that psychological impact as compassion fatigue. 

Compassion fatigue is a significant challenge for laboratory animal technicians, directors, and others working in high-empathy professions. According to the National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement, and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs) in the United Kingdom, providing care for research animals requires a high degree of emotional involvement, which can lead to compassion fatigue and burnout if not addressed.

Signs of Compassion Fatigue

Signs of compassion fatigue can vary. The following list highlights common signs but does not encompass the experience of everyone.

  • Decline in the ability to feel sympathy and empathy: impassive detachedness
  • Profound physical and emotional exhaustion: feelings of deep fatigue
  • A rise in negative emotions: anger, annoyance, irritability, anxiety, sadness, despair
  • Changes in cognitive function: difficulty concentrating on tasks and lapses in memory
  • Stress-related physical health complaints: headaches, nausea, chronic pain, and immune dysfunction

Resources

University of Oregon Resources

Faculty and Staff
  • The University of Oregon contracts with Canopy to provide a comprehensive assistance program for faculty and staff and their dependents. The services are at no cost to eligible members and your information is kept confidential.
Students

External Resources

Self-assessment Tool
Helpful Links
Podcasts
Books
  • Figley, Charles R. and Roop, Robert G., "Compassion Fatigue in the Animal-Care Community" (2006). eBooks. 5.
  • Teater, Martha and Ludgate, John, "Overcoming Compassion Fatigue: A Practical Resilience Workbook" (2014). PESI Publishing & Media.
  • Save a Starfish: A Compassion Fatigue Workbook for the Animal Welfare Warrior by Jennifer Blough, LLPC
  • The Mindful Self-Compassion Workbook: A Proven Way to Accept Yourself, Build Inner Strength, and Thrive by Kristen Neff, PhD, and Christopher Germer, PhD
  • Radical Acceptance by Tara Branch, PhD
  • The Happiness Project: Or, Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun by Gretchen Rubin
  • The Nature Fix: Why Nature Makes Us Happier, Healthier and More Creative by Florence Williams
  • The Self-Care Project by Jayne Hardy
  • When Helping Hurts: Compassion Fatigue in the Veterinary Profession by Kathleen Ayl, PsyD
  • The American Veterinary Medical Association’s Well-being Collection: A collection of articles on workplace well-being in animal care and veterinary workers, originally published in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association and the American Journal of Veterinary Research