The Marriage of Empathy and Compassion: A Road to Enhancement, Action, and Change
In these dangerous, draining times, you may find the evidence-based self-protection measures offered for social work and mental health colleagues helpful. We must do all possible to remain strong together.
Photo credit Bigstockphoto Arloo
Read the full commentary on socialworker.com
by SaraKay Smullens, MSW, LCSW, DCSW, CGP, CFLE, BCD
First and foremost, happy Social Work Month! We are each deeply fortunate to be part of our proud and historic profession. Our profession is one that asks a great deal of us and often has been labeled as “an impossible” one. A key reason is the resources necessary for our clients are rarely available to the extent they are needed, and far too often those in positions of power are highly insensitive to their importance for a healthy society,
For these reasons, societal burnout permeates, exacerbating other forms of burnout originating from work stress and those that may also exist in our personal relationships. Signs of overload we experience express themselves physically through exhaustion, as well as illness.
To alleviate this overload, through the years, I’ve researched key ways to provide relief in preserving and protecting strength, leading to more productive and attuned relationships with our clients. One direction of study relates specifically to our Social Work Month theme this year—Compassion and Action—where findings point to the relationship between compassion, empathy, and action. Before my investigation, I saw the concepts of empathy and compassion as one in the same. However, research led to understanding key differences, ones that understanding can help us to preserve energy…