Course Description
Self-Compassion Training for Healthcare Communities (SCHC) is a 6-hr evidence-based healthcare adaptation of Mindful Self-Compassion, the empirically supported program of Dr. Kristin Neff at UT Austin and Dr. Chris Germer at Harvard Medical School. This training aims to improve wellbeing and personal resilience in healthcare professionals by teaching mindful self-compassion skills to deal with distressing emotional situations as they occur at work and at home.
"A moment of self-compassion can change your entire day. A string of such moments can change the course of your life"
​
-Chris Germer, PhD
Course Details
When: Sept 17th - Oct 22nd
Time: Every Tuesday @ 7pm
Where: via ZOOM
b: Jill Goldsmith,Esq.J.D., M.Div.​​​​​​​​
Cost
This course starts at $325 for physicians. A sliding scale is offered for nurses, residents, and other healthcare professionals. Partial Scholarships are available.
Please reach out to MindfulMedicinePDX@gmail.com for more
information on sliding scales and scholarships
Objective
Course Description
At the completion of this activity,
participants will begin to:
• Describe the key components of self-compassion and mindfulness and how they can be integrated into your role as a healthcare professional.
• Explain the difference between empathy and compassion and utilize strategies to avoid emotional exhaustion.
• Practice techniques to increase self-compassion at work and everyday life.
• Practice at least one skill from each session to care for yourself emotionally while caring for others who are experiencing difficulty.
1-Hour live weekly sessions via zoom
Post-course reading/viewing material
• Week 1: What is Self-Compassion? Definition, Science and Research of Self-Compassion
• Week 2: Practicing Self-Compassion: Physiology and Practice of Self-Compassion with Mindfulness
• Week 3: Discovering your Compassionate Voice: Motivating Ourselves with Fierce Self-Compassion
• Week 4: Self-Compassion, Resilience and Strategies for Meeting Difficult Emotions
• Week 5: Burnout: Self-Compassion for Caregiver Fatigue
• Week 6: Making it Count: Reconnecting to Core Values
Research
In research published in the Journal of Clinical Psychology, Neff.Knox.2020 the SCHC program was found to significantly:
- Decrease: Depression, Stress, Secondary Traumatic stress, and Burnout
- Increase: Self-compassion, Mindfulness, Compassion for others, Job satisfaction in healthcare professionals
​As opposed to other self-care techniques, self-compassion practices can be used on the spot while at work with patients and colleagues.
Burgeoning research is showing that self-compassion skills can be of particular benefit to health care professionals, allowing them to experience greater satisfaction in their caregiving roles, less stress, and more emotional resilience. The good news is that self-compassion skills are trainable and build your capacity to handle stressful challenges.
Burnout, including secondary traumatic stress and emotional exhaustion, is prevalent among health care professionals and is a factor contributing to turnover (Cocker & Joss, 2016; West, Dyrbye, & Shanafelt, 2018). “Chronic stress associated with emotionally intense work demands for which resources are inadequate can result in burnout,” write West, Dyrbye, & Shanafelt (2018). The purpose of the 6-week Self-Compassion Training for Healthcare Communities is to teach healthcare workers on the job skills to meet the emotional demands of their work. Mindfulness and self-compassion practices for healthcare are intended to lower the chance that professionals will