Compassion Fatigue: When the Helper Needs Help

Authors

  • David C. Prichard Assistant Professor of Social Work, School of Social Work, University of New England

Abstract

This narrative is a first-person account of the impact of physical and emotional death on my life and the shattering of my illusion of invincibility and invulnerability. After several years of conducting psychological debriefings to emergency services personnel and developing training and graduate curriculum on crisis intervention theory, research, and practice, I was lulled into a false sense of security by thinking 'it could never happen to me.' I was wrong. The basic tenets of crisis intervention and primary and secondary traumatization are discussed with relevancy to clinical practice. Concepts are exemplified by case study and application to personal experiences.Copyright of Reflections: Narratives of Professional Helping is the property of Cleveland State University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.

Author Biography

David C. Prichard, Assistant Professor of Social Work, School of Social Work, University of New England

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How to Cite

Prichard, D. C. (2014). Compassion Fatigue: When the Helper Needs Help. Reflections: Narratives of Professional Helping, 4(2), 13–20. Retrieved from https://reflectionsnarrativesofprofessionalhelping.org/index.php/Reflections/article/view/550

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