Animal Welfare Professionals

Managing our mental health

Compassion fatigue and burnout are common within the animal welfare industry, and both are conditions that staff can learn to manage to ensure they are taking care of themselves. The Best Friends Network team has recently highlighted this topic to share ways staff can learn to incorporate self care alongside animal care:

• When rescuers need rescuing
• From surviving to thriving: an interview with José Ocaño
• The Best Friends Podcast, Episode 131: Managing our mental health

#Conferences,WorkshopsandWebcasts
#EducationandTraining
#OrganizationalManagement
#PeopleManagement(includingVolunteerIntegration)

------------------------------
raya greenbaum
Best Friends Animal Society
------------------------------

------------------------------
Julie Levy, DVM
Shelter Medicine Program at the University of Florida
Maddie's Million Pet Challenge
https://sheltermedicine.vetmed.ufl.edu
------------------------------

This is a really important topic and one that has become even more front and center with the added stress of the pandemic.  One of the best presentation I've seen recently was from the Maddie's Fund Community Conversation withe Not One More Vet.  It felt like a very unique take from a specific animal care perspective with a lot more of the harsh realities that some of the fluffy, care for yourself, presentations tend to ignore.

I've been trying to find local resources for this but that has been tough.  The online presentations are ok, but don't have nearly the impact of being able to sit in person and vent about these problems while getting resources from people who have been on the front lines and know exactly what they're going through.  Way too many of these presentations are 101 level "how to deal with stress" "how to meditate and do deep breathing" and "how to take time for yourself" crap that our staff has and would eye roll over and ignore.  It would be nice to have something that provides more practical, real world value.

If anyone has more resources here, I'd love to find something that we can use for our staff.  I reached out to NOMV, but unfortunately they're based in California, focus specifically on veterinarians, and don't have resources out in the Midwest.

------------------------------
Jeff Okazaki
Humane Society of Jefferson County
------------------------------

Hi Jeff,

We're so glad that the Maddie's Fund Community Conversation with Not One More Vet was helpful. This is a very important topic, so thank you for sharing your additional concerns.

I'm wondering if the University of Wisconsin-Madison might have programs closer to you, as I found this resource from their Integrative Health, Department of Family Medicine and Community Health: https://www.fammed.wisc.edu/files/webfm-uploads/documents/outreach/im/tool-burnout-and-resilience.pdf. 

Also, as a lifelong practitioner of meditation, I would recommend Dr. Jyothi Robertson's meditation offerings, albeit they are online experiences: https://jyo.world/meditation-gathering/

Thanks for all you and your staff do to help people and pets. Wishing you all the best!

Irene

------------------------------
Irene Chansawang
Grants Specialist
Maddie's Fund
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 12-27-2022 02:48 PM
From: Jeff Okazaki
Subject: Managing our mental health

This is a really important topic and one that has become even more front and center with the added stress of the pandemic.  One of the best presentation I've seen recently was from the Maddie's Fund Community Conversation withe Not One More Vet.  It felt like a very unique take from a specific animal care perspective with a lot more of the harsh realities that some of the fluffy, care for yourself, presentations tend to ignore.

I've been trying to find local resources for this but that has been tough.  The online presentations are ok, but don't have nearly the impact of being able to sit in person and vent about these problems while getting resources from people who have been on the front lines and know exactly what they're going through.  Way too many of these presentations are 101 level "how to deal with stress" "how to meditate and do deep breathing" and "how to take time for yourself" crap that our staff has and would eye roll over and ignore.  It would be nice to have something that provides more practical, real world value.

If anyone has more resources here, I'd love to find something that we can use for our staff.  I reached out to NOMV, but unfortunately they're based in California, focus specifically on veterinarians, and don't have resources out in the Midwest.

------------------------------
Jeff Okazaki
Humane Society of Jefferson County
------------------------------

Thanks Irene.

------------------------------
Jeff Okazaki
Humane Society of Jefferson County
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 12-29-2022 09:10 AM
From: Irene Chansawang
Subject: Managing our mental health

Hi Jeff,

We're so glad that the Maddie's Fund Community Conversation with Not One More Vet was helpful. This is a very important topic, so thank you for sharing your additional concerns.

I'm wondering if the University of Wisconsin-Madison might have programs closer to you, as I found this resource from their Integrative Health, Department of Family Medicine and Community Health: https://www.fammed.wisc.edu/files/webfm-uploads/documents/outreach/im/tool-burnout-and-resilience.pdf. 

Also, as a lifelong practitioner of meditation, I would recommend Dr. Jyothi Robertson's meditation offerings, albeit they are online experiences: https://jyo.world/meditation-gathering/

Thanks for all you and your staff do to help people and pets. Wishing you all the best!

Irene

------------------------------
Irene Chansawang
Grants Specialist
Maddie's Fund
------------------------------


Original Message:
Sent: 12-27-2022 02:48 PM
From: Jeff Okazaki
Subject: Managing our mental health

This is a really important topic and one that has become even more front and center with the added stress of the pandemic.  One of the best presentation I've seen recently was from the Maddie's Fund Community Conversation withe Not One More Vet.  It felt like a very unique take from a specific animal care perspective with a lot more of the harsh realities that some of the fluffy, care for yourself, presentations tend to ignore.

I've been trying to find local resources for this but that has been tough.  The online presentations are ok, but don't have nearly the impact of being able to sit in person and vent about these problems while getting resources from people who have been on the front lines and know exactly what they're going through.  Way too many of these presentations are 101 level "how to deal with stress" "how to meditate and do deep breathing" and "how to take time for yourself" crap that our staff has and would eye roll over and ignore.  It would be nice to have something that provides more practical, real world value.

If anyone has more resources here, I'd love to find something that we can use for our staff.  I reached out to NOMV, but unfortunately they're based in California, focus specifically on veterinarians, and don't have resources out in the Midwest.

------------------------------
Jeff Okazaki
Humane Society of Jefferson County

It's need to see others in the same pickle. I had a fire when I first started 8 years ago thinking yeah I can do it. There arent that many cats. Then I saw the whole picture.  It took everything within me but I ended up being angry, sad and just spiraling because I couldn't help them all. I live in tx and it is absolute chaos. 


---
Alycia 🐈‍⬛️

------------------------------
Alycia Lee
------------------------------