Compassion fatigue isn’t just for healthcare workers—it can affect anyone who gives emotionally. For educators, the emotional labor of supporting students day in and day out can lead to empathic strain, draining their emotional well-being. Recognizing the signs and developing strategies for managing this strain is essential to preventing burnout.
“I think the impact of empathic strain on educators has been under-recognized in my experience, at least locally. It’s not a conversation that’s been had a lot,” says John Thompson. The Supervisor of Outreach and Education at Lethbridge Family Services who presented at APLC’s Hot Topics in School Health: Compassion Fatigue – Addressing Empathic Strain in Educators.
The Hot Topics in School Health series is a set of professional learning sessions offered by APLC in partnership with the Healthy Schools team at Alberta Health Services. Each session tackles important subject areas for educators, like the Relationship Between Digital Media and Sexual Health, and Dealing with Grief and Loss in Schools.
Alyson Archibald, the principal of Dr. Hammond Elementary School in Taber, Alberta, acknowledges the growing concern and the need for proactive strategies to combat compassion fatigue. This concern is what led her to attend Thompson’s session, “as a principal, I was interested to glean some information on how I continue to support those in our school community.”
One key takeaway that Archibald took from Thompson’s session was the importance of connection. “Certainly, the self-care piece and the connection piece were really important to me… Teaching can feel isolating at times, and I feel like a lot of support can be given through connection.”
During the session Thompson highlighted the significance of self-awareness in combating compassion fatigue. He encourages educators to reflect on their professional journey: “What was it like when you left your house to go to work when you were newly hired? What did it feel like? What were you thinking about in terms of the future? And then to think about that now. Does it still feel like that?”
One practical approach to reducing compassion fatigue is adopting low-impact debriefing techniques. “Low-impact debriefing means that we’re able to talk to our peers in a way that includes consent… and that we only share the details that they need to know, and that we need to express in order to get support,” Thompson explains. This ensures that trauma is not unintentionally transferred among colleagues.
For educators, setting boundaries is a vital aspect of self-care. “It almost sounds counterintuitive, but teaching comes with the pressure to be ‘on’ all the time. Small actions—like changing into comfy clothes after work or taking a walk—help create separation,” Archibald says.
“Just as a reminder—not to be on your own island. Reach out, find ways to stay connected, and as leaders, we need to ensure our staff have access to the resources that can support them,” Archibald emphasizes.
Above all, staying connected and seeking support is essential and the Hot Topics in School Health series aims to help with that. Try and catch one of the last few sessions this year, starting with “Hot Topics in School Health: Mental Health: What’s Nutrition Got To Do With It?“, offered on April 09, 2025!