Understanding emotions for animal care professionals

Description

Those of us who work with animals know the joys, pain and challenges that come with caring for living beings.

Thing is, we may be taught how to care for animals but we’re rarely shown how to care for ourselves as we do so. There are so many topics we don’t talk about, burdens we carry, experiences we hold and emotions we feel. To be able to continue doing good and feeling good we have to understand and express our emotions and experiences - as individuals and as teams.

Choose from specific topic focuses:

Compassion awareness: Our experiences can range from joys to sorrows; here, we cover human wellbeing terminology and the importance of compassion for ourselves and others.

Empathic strain: Your ability to relate to others can be negatively affected due to prolonged stress, constant change and exposure to suffering and loss. Learn to recognise signs and symptoms of empathic strain, including a check-in process and warning system to track depletion and implement preventative strategies.

Moral distress: happens when we know what the ‘right thing’ to do is, but we are unable to act on it. Rules, policies, or gaps in resources can prevent the provision of diverse support which can result in unhappiness, frustration, and scorn. Learn to recognise and address moral distress.

Greif: is a natural response to loss and the emotional suffering you feel when something or someone you love is taken away. There's no right or wrong way to grieve, and it’s a personal process. Learn more on how to support yourself and each other in the grieving process.

Mourning and celebrating animals: Explore human and animal wellbeing during end of life care, compassionate ways we can celebrate the lives of animals, and how we can care for ourselves and each other.

‘I see you’ approach: What matters to you and what do you need to flourish? Explore how we can connect compassionately with others of all kinds.