ABA Annual CLE Recap: Dealing with Compassion Fatigue

What is Compassion Fatigue?Compassion Fatigue is the cost of caring for others in emotional or physical pain, together with a desire to alleviate it. In other words, you can’t seem to care, but you believe in the work you do. It results in a loss of capacity for, or interest in being empathetic with other’s pain. Compassion fatigue can be both, emotionally and professionally devastating. Not realizing an individual is suffering from compassion fatigue prevents positive coping, which is concerning because it can lead to greater issues. Due to the fact that lawyers lead the nation with the highest incidence of depression, it is important that individuals learn to be aware of and how to deal with compassion fatigue.

One of the causes for compassion fatigue is the attorney-client relationship. Working on serious and traumatic or emotional cases that attorneys cannot speak to others about can take a toll on a legal practitioner.
 The Signs and Symptoms:They symptoms of compassion fatigue resemble a milder form of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (“PTSD”). For example, there may be persistent avoidance, exaggerated response, trouble sleeping, or flashbacks. There are also four signs and symptoms of compassion fatigue:
1.     Physical (accident prone, headaches, sleep, susceptibility to infection)
2.     Emotional (irritability, depression, apathy, desire to leave practice)
3.     Social (callousness, indifference, avoidance, isolation)
4.     Intellectual (poor judgment, disordered thinking, short attention span, forgetful)

Other risk factors that may lead to compassion fatigues are:
·       Your personal life (i.e. you are a parent and so is your client; your personal life experiences; you have suffered a trauma)


·       Work- related (i.e. your socio-economic status)


·       System Issues (you are over-worked; perceived to have no vulnerabilities)

The Lawyer Culture IssueThe perception lawyers having no vulnerabilities is known as the “Lawyer Culture Issue.” This issue is far more pronounced in New England than in other regions. With studies showing a large spike in alcoholism and depression just after the first year of law school, it is important to get lawyers to recognize their weaknesses and seek help.

How to Deal with Compassion FatigueEveryone manages stress differently and must do whatever helps him or her maintain the care and drive for the work he or she does. During the CLE, a worksheet was handed out titled “Rewards of Your Work” which listed the following questions:
·       Make a list of the rewards of your work.
·       Have you grown and changed in a positive way?
·       What have you learned?
·       What has moved you?
·       What strengths do you bring to this work?
·       Have you made a difference to others?
·       What successes have you and your clients shared?
·       What has made you laugh?
 Reviewing this set of questions allows one to remember why they are in the field of work they do and reminds them of their success. As the attorney-client agreement can take a toll on legal practitioners, it is important to find a way to manage the stress of it, whether it be by having a mentor you can speak to, or unplugging for a bit, in order to deal with compassion fatigue.

By: Sheevani Patel, New England Law
Lt. Governor Mental Health and Wellness