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ANIMAL CARERS WELL-BEING

Can You Relate?

THE UNIQUE WORK?  

Having to be involved in euthanasia or mass euthanasia in a day. Depending on the

circumstances this can lead to a moral injury.

 

Working under pressure and having no time between patients to take a break and

the previous one was hard or sad

 

Feeling you need to always be at your best in front of others

 

Having to listen to pet owners describe a pet's traumatic situations

 

Seeing pets who are distressed

 

Seeing a pet who has been neglected or something could have made a difference if the owner had taken action sooner. But you are expected to save their pet.

 

Trying to decide when it is the right time to stop treatment

 

Being concerned or scared of pets who are aggressive

 

Discussing difficult and/or bad news

 

Having to justify the costs of a pet's care

 

Trying to support and manage pet owner's reactions when they are struggling with indecision, loss and grief, anger and blame, feeling like you have to be their therapist

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 IMPACT ON YOU?

You feel overwhelmed, stressed or emotional

 

Worry about what pet owners think if they leave unhappy, judge you and what they might say about you

 

You are experiencing imposter syndrome

 

Not recognising your level of stress and reacting out of character

 

Sometimes feel neutral about the trauma involved in your work and wonder why

 

Getting caught up dissecting, reliving or not able to stop thinking about cases

 

Feeling responsible if things didn't go as you thought or would have liked

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Turn on the sound to hear Shadow

I'm invested in looking after your well-being. I'm aware that animal care professionals (ACP) are faced with unique work with many complexities that can significantly impact on your well-being. This is often not understood or appreciated and leaves you open to challenging your well-being threshold, getting easily stressed, experiencing compassion fatigue, and being exposed to secondary trauma and burnout.

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I value working collaboratively, leveraging my extensive experience, offering evidence-based therapies, and tailoring strategies to address your specific needs.  My aim is for you to feel confident in knowing what to do, why it works and when to take action for your self-care. Let me support you in navigating your way to living well while having the capacity to do your work the way that’s important to you, thus meeting your sense of purpose.

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​SUPPORT AREAS

  • Individual Tailored Sessions

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  • ACP Well-Being Workshops

    • Increase your awareness of self-care needs based on evidence-based knowledge and strategies 

    • Helps you develop confidence in knowing what to do, why it works, and when to do it

    • Understanding your role in your well-being

    • Supports your workplace to develop a well-being context

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For example,

WORKPLACE WELL-BEING

  • Ways to normalise workplace well-being

  • Developing a well-being environment at work

  • Managing difficult interactions with pet owners

  • Managing your reactions so you feel you respond

  • the way you want and not react

  • Immediate relief strategies and daily resets

  • Living your legacy (what you want to be known for)

  • Understanding possible workplace side effects: compassion fatigue, cumulative stress, secondary trauma and burnout

  • Work debriefing and peer supervision to get perspective

SELF-CARE

  • Understand what is well-being

  • Learn how your well-being can change

  • How to recognise your stress levels and warning signs

  • How prevention can reduce related workplace side effects

  • Self-care strategies: mindful relaxation, physical activity, sense of purpose (thought and emotion care) and compassion, social support at home

  • Communicating your self-care needs and the type of support you need

 ACTION PLANS

  • For the team

  • For your self-care

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