Podcasts

Before becoming a specialist in organizational stress and trauma-exposed work, Françoise worked as a front-line mental health provider in a variety of complex settings including providing employee assistance to members of the Canadian Military. Over the last 25 years she has worked with law enforcement, military personnel, health care, child welfare, social services, addiction support, education and other professionals in need of psychological support.

In this episode, Françoise Mathieu shares her thoughts on the erosion of empathy in service providers and why organizations must go beyond self-care.

Vicarious trauma and secondary traumatic stress are terms used to describe the indirect trauma we experience when exposed to others’ trauma, whether it be through retelling of a story or through disturbing images on the internet. There are many ways we can experience vicarious trauma.

As human beings, we are naturally empathetic and can feel others’ pain and suffering. Some people however work in a profession and environment that deals with others’ trauma all day long and so are more prone to trauma and its effects. Public safety communications professionals are examples of those such people. These first responders are the first point of contact with someone directly experiencing trauma.

With us to walk us through the complex concepts of vicarious trauma, compassion fatigue and burnout in relation to public safety communication professionals is Françoise Mathieu, Executive Director at TEND Academy.

Child protection professionals have tough jobs on any day. Add in a pandemic, and you’re piling stress on top of stress. We talked to Françoise Mathieu, executive director of TEND, an academy in Canada offering resources and training to address the needs of workers in high-stress, trauma-exposed workplaces like Children’s Advocacy Centers and their partner agencies.

Françoise is a globally recognized expert on addressing burnout, compassion fatigue, and vicarious trauma in these high-stress workplaces. Naturally, she’s a great person to talk to about how to cope with the added stress and fear of a pandemic while working in fields that already have their share of these issues on the best of days. What’s a healthy response? Why should we stop saying, “Well, when things go back to normal …”? How do we deal with the ever-present feeling that we’re not doing enough? And how do we care for ourselves and our colleagues while keeping our distance? This interview was recorded on Zoom, and there are minor fluctuations in sound quality.