Rethinking compassion fatigue
1Department of Health Care Administration, California State University , Long Beach, California, USA.
Journal of Health Organization and Management
|July 8, 2017
Summary
Compassion fatigue, often thought to stem from excessive empathy, may actually result from a deficit in compassion. This reinterpretation offers new insights for healthcare professionals to combat this burnout effectively.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Healthcare Management
- Sociology
Background:
- Compassion fatigue is a significant concern in healthcare, often attributed to excessive empathy.
- Conventional interpretations lack depth regarding psychodynamics and historical context.
Purpose of the Study:
- To revise the concept of compassion fatigue by examining its history and psychodynamics.
- To challenge existing assumptions and offer a psychoanalytic perspective.
Main Methods:
- Critical analysis of historical media and political uses of the term 'compassion fatigue'.
- Psychoanalytic interpretation of unconscious and organizational dynamics.
- Review of existing healthcare literature on compassion fatigue.
Main Results:
- Historical usage suggests compassion fatigue arises from insufficient, not excessive, compassion.
- Existing healthcare literature overlooks this opposing view and underlying psychodynamics.
- A psychoanalytic lens reveals deeper, often unacknowledged, dynamics.
Conclusions:
- Revising the concept of compassion fatigue is crucial for a more accurate understanding.
- Acknowledging the role of insufficient compassion and psychodynamics can lead to better interventions.
- This offers novel perspectives for healthcare scholars and practitioners to address burnout.
Related Concept Videos
02:34Empathy
10.2K
Some researchers suggest that altruism operates on empathy. Empathy is the capacity to understand another person’s perspective, to feel what he or she feels. An empathetic person makes an emotional connection with others and feels compelled to help (Batson, 1991). Empathy can be expressed in several ways, including cognitive, affective, and motor.
10.2K
01:20Coping Strategies: Emotion Focused
589
Emotion-focused coping refers to a set of strategies aimed at managing the emotional impact of stressors, rather than directly addressing their causes. This approach involves altering one's emotional response to stressful situations to reduce their psychological effects. For example, individuals might talk with a friend or engage in activities like journaling to express their feelings. Such actions can help achieve emotional clarity or release, providing the psychological stability needed...
589
01:21Fatigue
893
Fatigue occurs when materials rupture under repeated or fluctuating loads, even at stress levels far below their static breaking strength. It typically results in brittle failure, even for ductile materials. It is a critical consideration in designing machines and structural components subjected to repetitive or varying loads. The nature of these loadings can range from fluctuating loads like unbalanced pump impellers causing vibrations to repeatedly bending a thin steel rod wire back and forth...
893
02:40The Scientific Method
66.3K
Research is what makes the difference between facts and opinions. Facts are observable realities, and opinions are personal judgments, conclusions, or attitudes that may or may not be accurate. In the scientific community, facts can be established only using evidence collected through empirical research.
66.3K
01:03Altruism
47.9K
Altruistic behaviors are “unselfish” behaviors—those that help another individual at the expense of the individual carrying out the behavior. Despite the negative consequences for the altruistic animal, these behaviors are thought to have evolved for several reasons.
47.9K
01:27Coping Strategies: Problem Focused
576
Coping strategies are methods people use to manage, tolerate, or reduce the effects of stressors. These strategies involve both behavioral and psychological actions to handle stressful situations. One common approach is problem-focused coping, which aims to change or eliminate the source of stress rather than merely addressing its consequences. This method involves taking direct action to resolve the issue causing stress.
For example, consider a student who struggles to understand their...
For example, consider a student who struggles to understand their...
576