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International Journal of Emergency Mental Health and Human Resilience | ISSN: 1522-4821 | Volume 20
November 26-27, 2018 | Los Angeles, USA
Psychiatry, Mental Health Nursing and Healthcare
World Summit on
Applied Psychology, Psychiatry and Mental Health
International Conference on
&
Care for the caregiver: An integral approach to sustaining wellness and preventing compassion fatigue
C
aring for others is a gift. Most people in the health and healing field find a deep sense of meaning in their work and consider
it a vocation, a personal and purposeful path. At the same time, giving, caring and healing can take its toll: burnout
and compassion fatigue are genuine dangers that can derail or shortcut practitioners’ careers. Whether you are a nurse or
another care provider, being with the pain and suffering of others cannot only be draining at times but lead to a general sense
of overwhelming, disenchantment and exhaustion. This presentation presents a model of holistic and integral intervention
in preventing compassion fatigue in health care providers working in the clinic and hospital settings. The integral approach
presented here originated out of a need to support psychological, physical and spiritual health and well-being in individuals and
groups who are vulnerable to secondary traumatization and chronic stress in the workplace. It involves the use of yoga, guided
imagery, breathing techniques, as well as discussions and psycho-education about compassion fatigue and effective self-care.
The presentation addresses the use of cognitive and experiential practices to support healthcare providers in better-utilizing
self-awareness and boundaries to prevent compassion fatigue.
Biography
Gisele Fernandes is a licensed psychotherapist, clinical supervisor, organizational consultant and graduate school professor. She has extensive training and
clinical experience in body-oriented approaches to psychotherapy, using an integrative method that is rooted in somatic, humanistic-existential and transpersonal
psychologies. Originally from Brazil, she began her career as a counselor in a hospital setting in Rio de Janeiro. From the beginning, she was interested in
the body-mind connection and in holistic ways of understanding and treating the complexities of the mind-body system, both from the patient as well as the
provider’s perspective. Since 2001, she has been working in the bay area in community mental health and private practice settings. Her therapeutic work integrates
sensorimotor trauma approach, attachment-based psychotherapy and mindfulness. She is a core faculty member at the California Institute of Integral Studies and
has been teaching in academic settings since 2008.
gfernandes@ciis.eduGisele Fernandes
California Institute of Integral Studies, USA
Gisele Fernandes, Int J Emerg Ment Health, Volume 20
DOI: 10.4172/1522-4821-C5-023