COVID19
Resources designed for helping professionals to help navigate the uncertainty of COVID-19 and other crisis situations.
Articles
Videos
Feet on the Floor: Grounding Technique with Diana Tikasz
Diana Tikasz, MSW, RSW shares a simple and effective strategy to help manage stress reactions.
This strategy is an excerpt from the Staying Grounded in Stressful Work Online Course.
Psychological PPE: Exploring Compassion Fatigue and Burnout during COVID
COVID-19

FEB 18, 2021
A Shift in Perspective: Why It’s Time to Stop Using “Compassion Fatigue”
Françoise Mathieu talks with Diana Tikasz. Dr. Ginny Sprang and Dr. Brian Bride about the term “compassion fatigue” and why it is time for an update on terminology.

SEPT 17, 2020
Compassionate Leadership: Webinar with the Experts
Françoise Mathieu, Cambria Rose Walsh and Tamsyn Brennan, three experts in the field of leadership and organizational health, discuss the key components of compassionate leadership during times of crisis.

JUNE 22, 2020
Psychological PPE during COVID -19 (Free Webinar)
As a psychiatrist juggling work and homeschooling during this pandemic, I quickly realized that I needed to develop tools to keep myself physically and emotionally healthy – I needed to grab my psychological PPE.

MAY 19, 2020
Pandemic Etiquette: Tips to Manage Communication Expectations for Teams
Each team will have to navigate their unique workplace culture and demands of their workload to come to an agreement about workplace etiquette during this pandemic. Here are some suggestions to consider.

MAY 7, 2020
A New Balancing Act: Resources to Manage Working from Home & Parenting During the Pandemic
Although there are no miracle solutions to the complex challenge of juggling home life and remote work, there are some excellent resources available.

APRIL 9, 2020
This is a Marathon – Not A Sprint: Understanding Reactivity During COVID-19 & Strategies to Stay Grounded
How do we understand our knee-jerk reactions to stress and how can we stay grounded in the face of uncertainty? This is Part Two of our strategies to stay well in the long-term.

APRIL 2, 2020
This is a Marathon – Not A Sprint: Strategies to Address Wear & Tear in Helping Professionals during COVID-19
What can we do to remain clear-headed and balanced during this pandemic? This is Part One of our strategies to stay well in the long-term.

MARCH 26, 2020
Leaders Are People Too: Staying Well During COVID-19 – an interview with Dr. Patricia Fisher
Dr. Fisher shares best practice recommendations for leaders amidst the stress of the COVID-19 pandemic.

MARCH 19, 2020
Today, Spare a Thought for the Call Centre Operators
Most operators were already experiencing very high-pressure work environments before this pandemic unfolded – here is what may be happening at the receiving end of that phone call, live chat or email.

MARCH 16, 2020
Dealing with Stress & Uncertainty
Françoise Mathieu shares three essentials tools to stay grounded, healthy and thinking clearly – even when we don’t have much control at all.
Videos and Audio
Grounding Technique: Feet on the Floor with Diana Tikasz, MSW, RSW
Excerpt from Diana Tikasz’s online course: Staying Grounded in Stressful Work
Ten Strategies for Managing Compassion Fatigue & Secondary Trauma with Françoise Mathieu
Françoise Mathieu shares 10 strategies for managing the impact of difficult work. Filmed by the Workers’ Compensation Board of Alberta in March 2018.
Please note that, as this presentation was filmed in 2018, the examples provided were prepared for the climate of healthcare at that time.
One in Ten, S2, Ep. 8: This Is a Marathon, Not a Sprint: Pacing Yourself Through the Pandemic
Child protection professionals have tough jobs on any day. Add in a pandemic, and you’re piling stress on top of stress. In this episode of the One in Ten podcast, Françoise shares strategies 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.
The One in Ten podcast is brought to you by National Children’s Alliance, the largest network of care centers in the U.S. serving child victims of abuse.
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Contact Us
- Use our Contact Us form;
- Email Lisa Doulas, our Director of Operations, at lisa@tendacademy.ca;
- or call us 1-613-539-2482 (Monday to Friday, 9:00 AM – 3:00 PM ET)
Frequently Asked Questions
About TEND
We provide education and consulting to a broad spectrum of workforces encountering stress and intense workloads. Our training assists helping professionals to understand and address the natural consequences of working in a high-stress and trauma-exposed workplace.
In 2002, our Executive Director, Françoise Mathieu. began offering training and education on compassion fatigue and secondary traumatic stress. A few years later, and with the expertise of organizational health expert Dr. Patricia Fisher, TEND was founded. Their shared mission of “helping the helper” has been the catalyst for two decades worth of training and resources. In 2021, Dr. Fisher officially retired and now serves as a Senior Advisor to our team.
We have two teams that work together to create, coordinate and deliver our training:
Our TEND Specialists are experienced professionals from the fields of mental health, organizational health, and resilience integration. Our presenters are some of the best at addressing challenging topics in a way that is approachable, relatable, and easy to grasp.
Our TEND admin team supports the day-to-day functioning of all of our services. When you submit our Contact Us form, it is our friendly admin team that you will be hearing from.
You can learn more about the people of TEND here.
The terms helping professional and caring professional are used to describe those whose role it is to help, care for, or protect others. This includes healthcare professionals, first responders, lawyers, judges, counsellors, therapists, teachers, funeral workers, animal care workers, customer service representatives – and so many more.
If your job is to help others – whether that be through treatment, counselling, advocacy, volunteering, community outreach, or customer service – you are a helping professional.
Our Services
We are pleased to offer a variety of options depending on your needs.
If you are looking for training that you can access at anytime and from anywhere, check out our On-Demand Courses or consider a subscription to our Psychological PPE Program. If you would like to learn how to deliver workshops on empathic strain and burnout, consider enrolling in our TEND Train the Trainer Program.
If you are leader, we offer an intensive program on Compassionate Leadership.
If you are looking for training for your team or organization, check out our catalogue of webinars, learn more about our live training options, or contact us for a customized solution. Looking for a keynote speaker? Inquire about availability.
Each year we offer our CARE4YOU Conference. Join our mailing list and be the first to know when registration is open.
Haven’t found what you need? We also host a library of resources, videos, and articles that are freely available to anyone in need of evidence-informed strategies.
Our training addresses the natural consequences of working in a high-stress, trauma-exposed workplace. Topics covered in our education include:
- Empathic strain (also known as Compassion fatigue)
- Secondary trauma (also known as Vicarious trauma)
- Burnout
- Moral distress
- Organizational health
- Post-traumatic growth
- Navigating crisis and uncertainty
- Conflict
- Compassionate leadership
Yes. Several of our TEND Specialists have held or currently maintain positions of leadership in their respective field and are uniquely qualified to offer insight and education to leadership. View our webinar catalogue for sessions specifically designed for leadership (under the “Learning for Leadership” section) or check out our Compassionate Leadership Program.
Unfortunately, no. However, if you are in crisis, you deserve support. There are resources available to you:
Crisis Services Canada
Mental Health America
List of International Suicide Hotlines
Note that the information presented in our services is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a physical and/or psychological condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read or seen on TEND’s website or during our online courses.
Yes. We offer consulting services to individuals and organizations looking for professional advice, guidance, and support. Get in touch.
Yes. All of our trainings can be delivered in French. However, our capacity to do so is limited by the availability of our French speaking presenters. If you require a French or bilingual presentation, please get in touch well in advance of your preferred presentation date.
We also offer some of our most popular resources in French.
Virtual Training
All of our training and education options can be delivered virtually. Check out our catalogue of webinar offerings or contact us to discuss a customized solution.
Zoom. We have found this to be most accessible and reliable platform for our clients.
Here is an outline of the process:
- The first step is to connect with our team to coordinate the details of your virtual event including date, time, presenter, and topics.
- Our Webinar Support Coordinator will send you a Zoom link. You will distribute this link to participants. Participants will use this link to register for the live event. Once registered, participants will receive an email with instructions to access the live event as well as a series of reminders.
- On the day of the live event, a TEND IT representative will be available on the webinar to assist with any technical issues. While we do our best to help when we can, note that there may be times when we are unable to assist due to issues outside of our control (e.g., firewall protections, hardware issues, poor internet connection). If you have access to your own IT team, we recommend connecting with them before your event to ensure smooth sailing.
- Following the live event, our team will send you a link to access an on-demand version of your webinar. This pre-recorded session will be available for 30-days.
Note that customized virtual training sessions are not recorded.
Absolutely – in fact, we encourage it. Our priority at TEND is ensuring that the content of your virtual training is appropriate and meaningful to your people’s needs. After a training agreement has been signed, the TEND Trainer will contact you to arrange a 30-minute “Meet the Trainer” call.
Our standard trainings can host 500 participants.
We can accommodate larger groups – however, an additional fee may be necessary to cover the increased capacity. Just tell us what you need and we will find a solution that suits you best.
For two reasons:
1.) We have found that participants are more likely to engage when the session is not recorded.
2.) To ensure respect for the privacy of our clients and participants of our virtual trainings. You can learn more about our commitment to privacy here.
Note that the recordings that are provided to your team following a live event are pre-recorded versions. These sessions were recorded without an audience and, therefore, are not specific to any one profession or organization.
Live Training
All of our training and education options can be delivered in-person at your organization.
However, at this time, our ability to offer in-person options may be restricted by public health guidelines. The health and safety of our team members, our clients, and our communities are top priorities. As things change and evolve, we will reassess our capacity for in-person training.
Contact us and we will be happy to explore options with you.
Pricing
Yes. We offer group pricing for all of our On-Demand Courses, e-books, and subscriptions. Contact us and we will be happy to send you some options.
We accept Visa and Mastercard or you can pay by cheque or PayPal.
For Canadian clients, we can accept EFT.
Upcoming Programs and Events
The Compassionate Leadership Program
Gain the skills and tools needed to successfully and confidently lead your organization as a compassionate leader.
$3,250.00 CAD + Tax
TEND Train the Trainer Program
An online course that provides practical skills in designing and delivering workshops that address the challenges of working in a high-stress and trauma-exposed work.
$2,950.00 CAD + Tax
Our Team
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

FRANÇOISE MATHIEU
M. Ed, RP
Kingston, Ontario
Françoise Mathieu is a sought-after speaker and educator in Canada, the U.S. and around the world. With over 25 years of work in the field of mental health, she brings with her extensive experience as a crisis counselor, and nearly a decade of working with Health Canada’s CFMAP (Canadian Forces Member Assistance Program).
Françoise co-founded TEND Academy with Dr. Patricia Fisher and divides her time between public speaking engagements and working with organizations looking to train their teams on topics such as burnout, empathic strain, compassion fatigue, vicarious trauma, high stress workplaces, self-care and provider wellness.
Françoise is the author of The Compassion Fatigue Workbook, published by Routledge in 2012 as well as the author of several feature articles. She is a co-founder and regular contributor to the the TEND Toolkit
TEND ASSOCIATES

CAMBRIA WALSH
LCSW
San Diego, California
Cambria Walsh has been working in the field of child abuse and trauma for the past 20 years. She worked for the Chadwick Center for Children and Families at Rady Children’s Hospital and was the Project Co-Director of the Child Welfare Trauma-Informed Practices, Program and Policy Center in the National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN)
Cambria is a founding member of the Secondary Traumatic Stress Consortium and has been active with the group since its inception in 2015.
As part of the TEND team, Cambria is an Organizational Health Specialist for the Roadmap to Organizational Health program, and provides training to a wide range of audiences on the topics of Secondary Traumatic Stress and Compassionate Leadership.

DIANA TIKASZ
MSW, RSW
Hamilton, Ontario
Diana Tikasz has worked in the teaching and health care sector for over 30 years. Her helping work began as an early childhood educator, nurturing children and their families to reach their fullest potential. This work developed into a desire to do trauma-focused work.
Diana has worked as a Resilience Specialist in a large Ontario-based hospital. Her extensive career has involved facilitating many organizations, groups, and individuals to foster optimal well-being while doing trauma-exposed work.
As part of the TEND team, Diana is an Organizational Health Specialist for the Roadmap to Organizational Health program.

DONNA SHANOR
LCSW, LCDC
Austin, Texas
Donna Shanor is the Director of Clinical Social Work at University of Texas Dell Medical Center and UT Health Austin in Austin, Texas. She has served on the Trauma-Informed Care Consortium of Central Texas since 2013 and has lead efforts in the implementation of becoming a trauma informed organization. Donna is also a Board Approved Clinical Supervisor in the state of Texas.
Donna has over 15 years of experience working with cross cultural issues, domestic violence, substance abuse, mood disorders, and trauma. She has experience working in interdisciplinary integrated primary care settings and is bilingual in English and Spanish.

DORON GOLD
BA, JD, MSW, RSW, CPCC
Toronto, Ontario
Doron Gold is a registered social worker, a certified professional coach, and psychotherapist. He practiced law for 10 years, primarily as a family and civil litigator. Since 2006, Doron has assisted lawyers, judges, law students, and other professionals in managing and addressing personal and work-related challenges including addiction, depression, anxiety, and career stress.
Doron has written for and has been quoted extensively in Lawyers’ Weekly, Law Times, Precedent Magazine, Canadian Lawyer and LawPro Magazine on topics related to mental health and wellness. He is the co-author of the Canadian Bar Association’s “Mental Health and Wellness in the Legal Profession” online course and is the recipient of the 2016 Canadian Bar Association Wellness Forum Award of Excellence. Doron is also a member of the steering committee for the Federation of Law Societies of Canada National Study on the Health and Wellness Determinants of Legal Professionals in Canada.

JOHN BORTHWICK
BA, M.Div
Guelph, Ontario
John Borthwick is the Director of Lifelong Learning at Knox College (University of Toronto). Prior to taking on this role, John served as a congregational minister in The Presbyterian Church in Canada for over 25 years. He is an experienced teacher and facilitator, specializing in the areas of traumatology, resilience, empathic strain, moral distress, conflict mediation and coaching skills, and leadership development.

KATE HEFFERON
BA, BA (Hons), MSc, PhD
Stella, Ontario
Kate Hefferon (PhD) is an academic, researcher, author, speaker, and educator who has studied and worked in the fields of well-being and trauma for 20 years. She has created, evaluated and offered resilience training to professionals from a variety of backgrounds including military, mental health, medicine, higher education, and within the public sector. Since completing her studies, Kate’s career has focused on understanding resilience and transformative growth following challenging circumstances.
She has extensive experience teaching and supervising in post-secondary education and founded a Post-traumatic Growth Research Unit at the University of East London. Kate has presented her work at conferences nationally and internationally and is the author/co-author of numerous peer-reviewed papers, book chapters, and textbooks including Positive Psychology and the Body: The Somatopsychic Side to Flourishing.

KATHLEEN GORMAN
MSW, RSW
Treaty 6 Territory, Alberta
Kathleen Gorman is a registered social worker, a certified trauma treatment specialist (CTTS) and a Somatic Experiencing® (SE) Practitioner. She has been working in the fields of trauma, grief and loss, mental health and addictions, and domestic and sexual violence for more than 38 years with Indigenous families and communities, government services, mental health and addictions services, and non-profit agencies.
In addition to her private practice, Kathleen provides trauma-specific counselling at Aboriginal Counseling Services Association of Alberta and co-facilitates therapeutic groups for Aboriginal women. She is a sessional instructor for the University of Calgary Social Work Faculty, teaching and supervising in both the Bachelor of Social Work and Master of Social Work programs.

MEAGHAN WELFARE
BA
Kingston, Ontario
Meaghan Welfare is a conflict management practitioner at the Department of National Defence at CFB Kingston. She has a degree in criminology and criminal justice with a minor in law, a graduate certificate in dispute resolution from York University and a certificate in family mediation from University of Waterloo.
Meaghan develops and delivers training in the field of conflict management, communication, workplace bullying and decision-making for board of directors. She has worked with several government departments in Canada including the National Parole Board, Veterans Affairs, Department of National Defence, Corrections Canada, and Canada Post.

SARAH STEWART
RSW
Guelph, Ontario
Sarah Stewart is a Registered Social Worker, holding a Bachelor of Social Work from the University of Victoria. She is a certified Mental Health First Aid Basic and Youth instructor, and a facilitator of the program Resisting Vicarious Trauma & Shouldering Each Other Up. Sarah is the founder and lead trainer of Open Minds Mental Health Training and Consulting.
Sarah has developed trainings on trauma-informed practice, boundaries, and workplace mental health for grassroots agencies, non-profits, colleges, and corporations. She is passionate about promoting anti-oppressive approaches to wellness and sustainability in helping professionals, de-stigmatizing conversations about mental health challenges, and improving mental health-related accessibility.

SCOTT JONES
Edmonton, Alberta
Scott Jones retired as a Superintendent from the Edmonton Police Service after a 30+ year career. He worked in numerous areas including patrol, recruit training, homicide, child protection, crisis negotiation, human resources, major crimes, and integrated community safety. Scott now serves as a wellness navigator in the Employee and Organizational Wellness Branch.
As part of his own wellness journey, Scott has practiced yoga for over 10 years and became a yoga teacher with a focus on trauma-informed practice, mindful breath work, and deliberate cold and heat exposure. He is an instructor at NorQuest College and co-host of the podcast Just Us on Justice and Other Things.

TAMSYN BRENNAN
MSW, RSW, MBA
Halifax, Nova Scotia
Tamsyn Brennan has 12 years of experience working in social service and education settings including palliative care, pediatric oncology, child protection and welfare, public and private school settings and with Corrections Canada. She was the Director of Clinical Services at Chisholm Services for Children in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada for five years.
Tamsyn holds a BA from the University of Waterloo, a Master’s degree in Social Work from the University of Toronto, and an Executive Masters in Business Administration from Saint Mary’s University. She is currently providing counselling in private practice, focusing both on operational stress injuries, as well as chronic illness.
SENIOR ADVISORS

DR. MIKE CONDRA
Ph. D., C. Psych
Kingston, Ontario
Dr. Mike Condra is an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at Queen’s University in Kingston, ON. He has taught in the undergraduate and graduate programs in the Department of Psychology, Faculty of Education and Faculty of Law.
For more than two decades, Mike was the Director of the Department of Health, Counselling and Disability Services at Queen’s University. He co-developed the Queen’s University Crisis Intervention Institute and has presented at national and international conferences on the topics of mental health, risk-assessment, stigma-reduction, crisis-intervention, and verbal de-escalation.

DR. PATRICIA FISHER
Ph.D., R.Psych.(Ret.)
Dr. Patricia Fisher is a Senior Advisor and Co-founder of TEND. As a clinical psychologist and specialist in organizational health and workplace wellness in trauma-exposed workplaces, Patricia develops research-based training programs, assessment tools and solutions for trauma-exposed workplaces.
Dr. Fisher has authored numerous books addressing trauma-exposed workplace issues including: Resilience, Balance & Meaning: Supporting our Lives and our Work in High Stress, Trauma-Exposed Workplaces and Building Resilient Teams: Facilitating Workplace Wellness & Organizational Health in Trauma-Exposed Environments.
ADMINISTRATIVE TEAM
TEND Homepage 2

Individuals
We support individuals by providing accessible education, tools, and resources for managing the effects of high-stress and trauma-exposed work.

Leadership
We support the development of transformational leadership and management practices that take into consideration the complex, specialized challenge of supervising staff who work within high stress systems.

Organizations
We support organizations by fostering a collaborative approach among staff and management leading to lowered attrition rates, increased cohesion among teams, and improved outcomes for clients.

WHO WE ARE
We are a team of experienced educators with extensive backgrounds in the fields of mental health and organizational well-being. Since 2001, our educators have given thousands of workshops across Canada, the United States and around the world.
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WHAT WE DO
We provide education and resources to helping professions, leadership, and organizations to help them stay healthy, effective and engaged while doing challenging work.
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UPCOMING EVENTS
CARE4YOU 2021
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Virtual CARE4YOU FAL 2020
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CARE4YOU 2022
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Videos
Videos
Maintaining Balance: Self-Care, Resiliency, and Ethical Service Delivery
“We can’t do this work running and living on adrenaline, caffeine, sugar, and four hours of sleep. We aren’t robots.” In this conversation, Françoise reflects on her 20-plus years’ experience as a mental health professional, crisis counselor, and trauma specialist to provide insight on the lessons she has learned over her career, what she wishes she had known early on, and characteristics of positive and negative working situations that she’s experienced.
Presented as part of the Reflect. Refuel. Reset. Secondary Traumatic Stress Video Series by the Southern Regional Children’s Advocacy Center.
The Ethics and Pragmatic Reality of Creating Healthy Organizations
“It’s one of those happy circumstances where the ethics of creating a healthy organization is in exact alignment with the pragmatic reality of this. Organizations need to have the healthiest possible staff in order to be maximally functional and to be able to meet their mandates.” In this conversation, Pat Fisher talks about what a trauma-informed organization looks like and how an organization begins to think about creating working environments that are supportive for staff and specific strategies that organizations can implement.
Presented as part of the Reflect. Refuel. Reset. Secondary Traumatic Stress Video Series by the Southern Regional Children’s Advocacy Center.
A Shift in Perspective: Why It’s Time to Stop Using Compassion Fatigue
In this panel discussion, Françoise Mathieu is joined by three experts in the field of provider impairment to bring clarity to the current state of terminology and discuss why the term compassion fatigue should be replaced by empathic strain.
Presenters
Françoise Mathieu, M. Ed, RP, Executive Director of TEND
Diana Tikasz, MSW, RSW, TEND Associate
Dr. Brian Bride, MPH, MSW, University Professor and Director of the School of Social Work at Georgia State University
Dr. Ginny Sprang, Professor in the College of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry at the University of Kentucky and the Executive Director of the UK Center on Trauma and Children
Feet on the Floor: Grounding Technique with Diana Tikasz
Diana Tikasz, MSW, RSW shares a simple and effective strategy to help manage stress reactions.
This strategy is an excerpt from the Staying Grounded in Stressful Work Online Course.
Psychological PPE: Exploring Compassion Fatigue and Burnout during COVID
Podcasts
Podcasts
The Trauma Therapist Project
Ep 596: Beyond Self Care with Francoise Mathieu, M.Ed.
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.
Good Enough for Jazz
S1, E29: Understanding Vicarious Trauma and Secondary Traumatic Stress
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.
Psych Health and Safety in Canada Podcast
S1, E3: There is No One Magic Bullet – With Françoise Mathieu
Françoise Mathieu provides very practical strategies to provide what she calls Psychological PPE for employees, including first responders and those in high-stress, high-pressure jobs.
One in Ten
S2, E8: This Is a Marathon, Not a Sprint: Pacing Yourself Through the Pandemic
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.