The past few years in animal welfare have been especially difficult, leaving many profoundly depleted. Given the challenges in our field, what can we do to care for ourselves, our peers, and our staff? This webinar will provide an introduction to common occupational stressors in animal protection services and evidence-based strategies to support well-being in complex stress, trauma-exposed work.
Participants will learn terminology, symptoms, and risk factors related to empathic strain aka compassion fatigue, secondary traumatic stress, PTSD, burnout, and moral distress. The session will provide practical, effective strategies that can be implemented on and off the clock to reduce stress and distress, create healthier workplaces, and tap into career-sustaining compassion satisfaction.
At the end of the session, participants will:
- Identify key signs and symptoms that characterize stress injury in self and others
- Understand five evidence-based elements shown to reduce the harmful impact of stress and adversity in ongoing stressful work
- Implement simple strategies to support physical and mental recovery
- Offer targeted support to peers and staff through more effective check-ins
This webinar has been certified by the National Animal Care & Control Association and is approved for 1 Continuing Education Unit. Please refer to your NACA membership portal for current CEU submission process. Current NACA Members who attend the live presentation or watch the recording will be able to download a jointly issued attendance certificate that includes the National Animal Care & Control Association logo. Visit the NACA training page for a complete list of future trainings.
This webinar has been pre-approved by the Maine Animal Welfare Program for 1 Continuing Education Unit in Core Area 4 (Officer Wellness & Mental Health) for the State of Maine’s ACO annual training. You can find more information about Certification, required annual training or submitting materials for credit at Maine’s Animal Control Officer Resource Page.
About the Presenter:
Jessica Dolce, MS CCFE, is a Certified Compassion Fatigue Educator, receiving her training from TEND Academy. She brings 20 years of experience working with and for companion animals to The Compassion in Balance® Program, her online education platform for animal shelters.
She is an instructor with The Shelter Medicine Program at the University of Florida where she teaches wellbeing courses for veterinary students and animal welfare professionals. Jessica has worked with organizations such as the ASPCA, HSUS, The Animal Legal Defense Fund, The National Wildlife Rehabilitators Association, and Animals Asia.
Jessica holds a Master of Science in Adult and Higher Education degree and is certified in Mental Health First Aid. She lives in Maine and can be found online at her website, jessicadolce.com.
