Beyond Compassion Fatigue: Make Your Passion for Helping Animals Sustainable!

Ep. 43: The Emotional Cost of Working in Emergency Veterinary Medicine with Dr. Marie Holowaychuk

In this episode, I’m joined by Dr. Marie Holowaychuk, who will take us on a deep dive into compassion fatigue in the ER setting, where life-or-death decisions, intense client emotions, and relentless urgency collide. She shares what compassion fatigue looks like specifically in emergency veterinary medicine, how it differs from other areas of practice, and why ER clinicians are at such high risk for emotional exhaustion, secondary traumatic stress, and burnout. Together, we explore both the personal and systemic factors that shape this experience—and what actually helps.

In This Episode, We Discuss:

• What compassion fatigue looks like in emergency veterinary medicine, and how it differs from general practice or specialty settings
• The cumulative emotional toll of constant urgency and life-or-death decision-making
• How moral stress, responsibility, and high-stakes outcomes contribute to exhaustion and trauma
• Why boundary-setting is uniquely difficult in ER environments where every case feels critical
• Practical strategies that help clinicians manage compassion fatigue
• What veterinary hospitals can do at an organizational level to better support ER staff
• How leadership, culture, and systems play a role in preventing burnout and secondary trauma
• The inspiration behind A Compassionate Calling and the creation of additional resources to support veterinary professionals

Resources Mentioned: 

• Book website
• Book purchase link
• Personal website
• Instagram: @marieholowaychuk
• Facebook & LinkedIn: @drmarieholowaychuk
• YouTube: @marieholowaychukdvm
• Free resources (podcast, blog, downloads)

Other Resources:

Grab your free resources to help manage compassion fatigue here. 

Visit my free virtual calming room here. 

Check out my Compassion Fatigue Skills and Support Circle here. 

Get your copy of To Save a Starfish: A Compassion Fatigue Workbook for the Animal Welfare Warrior here. 

 

 

Ep. 42: The Nightmares Nobody Talks About in Animal Care and Advocacy

Do you struggle with nightmares related to animal suffering? If so, you're definitely not alone! In this episode, I open up about my own experience with nightmares and explore why nightmares are so common among animal welfare professionals and advocates. If your nights are disrupted by distressing dreams, this episode offers validation, education, and practical tools to help you cope.

We'll explore: 

• The difference between bad dreams and nightmares
• Why nightmares are so common in animal care, welfare, rescue, advocacy, and activism
• When nightmares might indicate something more serious
• Preventing and coping with nightmares
• When to seek professional help

Got a suggestion for a future topic? Reach out to me: jen@jenblough.com.

Follow on social media: 

Facebook

Instagram

YouTube

Grab your free resources to help manage compassion fatigue here. 

Visit my free virtual calming room here. 

Get your copy of To Save a Starfish: A Compassion Fatigue Workbook for the Animal Welfare Warrior here. 

 

Ep. 41: Mindset, Meaning, and Why You Are Not Your Trauma Story with Melissa Lee Parent

Those of us who care for animals often experience suffering, cruelty, loss, and moral injury. Over time, those experiences can shape how we see the world, ourselves, and our future. On this episode, my guest Melissa Lee Parent and I discuss the role of mindset in animal care, welfare, and activism, and why your trauma doesn't define who you are.

We Explore: 

• What mindset really is 

• How mindset can either fuel burnout or support resilience

• Common mindset traps in animal welfare

• The role of self-talk and internal narratives

• Why “you are not your trauma story” matters

• And more!

Resources Mentioned:

Melissa's website

Instagram

More Resources: 

Grab your free resources to help manage compassion fatigue here. 

Visit my free virtual calming room here. 

Get your copy of To Save a Starfish: A Compassion Fatigue Workbook for the Animal Welfare Warrior here. 

Ep. 40: Taming the Four Horsemen: Communicating with Difficult People in Animal Welfare

In this episode, I put on my therapist hat and tackle the complexities of communication in the animal care, rescue, welfare, and activism fields. Recognizing that interactions with colleagues, volunteers, and the public can often become challenging, I draw upon John Gottman's Four Horsemen of Communication. It's a framework originally designed for couples counseling, to illustrate universal communication pitfalls and provide strategies for improvement. 

We'll explore: 

• The importance of effective communication
• The four horsemen of communication adapted to animal work
• Strategies for dealing with the four horsemen
• Bonus communication tips

Got a suggestion for a future topic? Reach out to me: jen@jenblough.com.

Follow on social media: 

Facebook

Instagram

TikTok

YouTube

Grab your free resources to help manage compassion fatigue here. 

Visit my free virtual calming room here. 

Check out my Compassion Fatigue Skills and Support Circle here. 

Get your copy of To Save a Starfish: A Compassion Fatigue Workbook for the Animal Welfare Warrior here. 

 

Ep. 39: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) for Compassion Fatigue with Dr. Amanda Weiss

Animal welfare and veterinary professionals carry an extraordinary emotional burden, and yet many struggle to find mental health support that truly understands the unique demands of this work. In this episode, we explore Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and how it can support advocates who are navigating compassion fatigue, burnout, grief, and moral distress.

My guest, Dr. Amanda Weiss, shares why working with animal care and advocacy professionals became a calling, and how ACT offers a powerful, values-based framework for healing without asking people to harden themselves to suffering.

In this episode, we discuss:

• What ACT is and how it’s different
  
  
• ACT and compassion fatigue
  
  
• Values-based living and self-compassion
  
  
• What acceptance really means (and what it doesn’t)
  
  
• Finding meaning in emotionally exhausting work
  
  
• A simple ACT exercise for hard days

Amanda’s Resources:

Contact Info: amandaweisspsyd@gmail.com or 732-239-9446

Instagram

YouTube

Additional Resources from Jen: 

Grab your free resources to help manage compassion fatigue here. 

Visit my free virtual calming room here. 

Get your copy of To Save a Starfish: A Compassion Fatigue Workbook for the Animal Welfare Warrior here. 

 

Ep. 38: The Mind-Body Connection with Lara Bokovay

In this episode, I'm joined by coach and intuitive healer Lara Bokovay. We dive into the world of somatic practices and explore how tuning into the body can help regulate the nervous system, relieve stress, and restore balance—especially for those working in high-stress, emotionally intense environments like animal care and welfare. We discuss practical techniques, the science behind trauma in the body, and how somatic work complements traditional talk therapy.

We explore:

• What somatic practices are and how they help regulate the nervous system.

• What happens in the body during stress and trauma, and how somatic work approaches it differently than talk therapy.

• Simple, beginner-friendly somatic techniques you can use in the moment when feeling overwhelmed or triggered.

• How caregivers and animal advocates can reconnect with their own bodies and needs through somatic practices.

• The importance of body awareness in healing from chronic stress, burnout, and compassion fatigue.

• Insights on how secondary trauma manifests in the body.

• Tips for those who feel unsafe in their body or struggle to notice physical sensations—where to start safely.

• Daily somatic rituals and grounding practices to build nervous system resilience over time.

Resources Mentioned: 

Lara's website

Lara's socials:

Facebook

Instagram and TikTok: @larabokovay

Jen's Resources: 

Grab your free resources to help manage compassion fatigue here. 

Visit my free virtual calming room here. 

Get your copy of To Save a Starfish: A Compassion Fatigue Workbook for the Animal Welfare Warrior here. 

 

Ep. 37: Infighting: Can't We All Just Get Along?

In this episode, I dive into a difficult, but very real, issue in animal care, welfare, and activism: infighting. From social media drama to competition between organizations, internal conflict can be just as exhausting as the work itself.

If you’ve ever found yourself wondering, “Aren’t we all trying to help animals?” or feeling burned out by conflict within advocacy spaces, this episode is for you.

I explore infighting through psychological, sociological, and philosophical lenses, helping listeners understand why these conflicts happen—and more importantly, how we can begin moving toward collaboration instead of competition.

Episode 30: Identity and Self-Esteem

Grab your free resources to help manage compassion fatigue here. 

Visit my free virtual calming room here. 

Check out my Compassion Fatigue Skills and Support Circle here. 

Get your copy of To Save a Starfish: A Compassion Fatigue Workbook for the Animal Welfare Warrior here. 

Ep. 36: Managing Compassion Fatigue in TNR with Stacy Attenburg

Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) is lifesaving work, but it can also be uniquely exhausting. In this episode, we explore why TNR can take such a heavy emotional and physical toll, how compassion fatigue shows up for volunteers and caregivers, and what it truly takes to stay in this work without losing yourself. This episode is for anyone involved in TNR who has ever felt overwhelmed, depleted, or questioned how long they can keep going. 

In this episode, we discuss:

• What compassion fatigue in TNR looks like compared to other areas of animal welfare

• The realities behind the work

• Early warning signs of compassion fatigue

• The pressure to always say “yes”

• Coping skills that actually help

• The rewarding side of TNR and compassion satisfaction

Want to help out the kitties? Check out Stacy's Amazon Wishlist here.

Connect with Stacy on Facebook.