School of Social and Political Science

Description

This workshop is designed for MSc students in the pre-fieldwork stage of their dissertation research. It may be particularly relevant for those conducting research in high-stress environments and/or with sensitive subjects and at-risk populations.

Compassion fatigue (CF) is a form of excessive empathic concern or emotional exhaustion caused by repeatedly bearing witness to the suffering of others and lack of appropriate interpersonal boundaries. Over time, CF may lead to more serious mental health conditions like depression, burnout, and even vicarious traumatization. This interactive workshop will interrogate the relationship between empathy and compassion, introducing participants to academic definitions as well as embodied techniques for compassion cultivation. Facilitators will introduce multiple strategies for setting boundaries, and integrating compassion and self-compassion into research methodologies. This workshop will be co-facilitated by BeDo co-founders Daillen Culver and Megan Douglas, drawing upon Daillen’s Applied Compassion Training (ACT) with Stanford University’s Center for Compassion and Altruism Education (CCARE). Both co-founders will cite their professional experience in the humanitarian sector.

Learning Objectives

Participants will:

● Differentiate between empathy and compassion;

● Understand signs and common causes of compassion fatigue;

● Explore the embodied sense of compassion through guided exercises;

● Discuss effective techniques for personal and interpersonal boundary setting;

● Practice evidence-based techniques for compassion cultivation;

● Highlight protective factors and create an action plan for self-monitoring and

self-care

Facilitated by BeDo, a student-led and female-founded wellbeing initiative for impact-driven individuals.