Portraits of Professional CAREgivers: Their Passion. Their Pain

This documentary film deals with those public health and other professional caregivers who heal the injured and assist the traumatized -  therapists, emergency nurses and doctors, hospice staff, social workers, child protective staff,and related trauma personnel, including first responders, firefighters, police-- but receive little help in managing their own emotional pain and exhaustion, and often experience secondary traumatic stress, aka compassion fatigue and vicarious trauma. Dramatically higher rates of suicide, PTSD, and burnout have been documented in some of these front line caregiving professions.

 Summary:  Through dramatic portraits and personal stories of professional caregivers, this documentary shows how empathy and caring for clients and patients can not infrequently lead to serious and often unacknowledged occupational hazards , such as professional grief and secondary trauma, also known as compassion fatigue and vicarious trauma. Indeed, the public health or caregiving professionals' frequent exposure to the toxic stress of their clients or the environment in which they work may sometimes lead to symptoms that resemble those of the traumatized people they are seeking to serve. These symptoms of the caregivers can include: emotional fatigue, sadness and grief; anxiety, panic, intense anger; fears of reoccurrence; poor concentration, memory problems and speech changes; nightmares and flashbacks; appetite changes; alcohol or drug consumption; antisocial activities; depression; intensified pacing and erratic movement; temporary loss of time, place or person orientation.  "Portraits of Professional CAREgivers" depicts also the professionals’ courageous efforts to develop coping strategies that sustain themselves individually and collectively —struggling at times to create meaning and purpose in their challenging work. The film illustrates how these professionals, for their own mental health and emotional sustenance must develop important methods of self-care, which nurture them and help them to cope.  Equally important are the creation of intentional supportive structures within the public health and service organizations that will sustain and nurture their staff during the work day.  The film emphasizes also the very rich meaning that the helping professionals also can experience in their work, when it is balanced with proper self-care and a favorable work environment.  Internationally recognized experts, Drs. Sandra Bloom and Charles Figley, provide insightful commentary about the daily emotional and physical challenges of these caregiving/ public health professionals. And they suggest thoughtful ways to effectively support these people—upon whom everyone in society depends!  The documentary shows a number of personal self-care strategies and  illustrates 4 examples of effective organizational structures which nurture staff, including aspects of Bloom's Sanctuary Model (in a child protective agency), Emotional First Aid (in the Philadelphia Fire Department), Staff Bereavement sessions (in a NJ Hospice), and a Workshop of emotional support for professionals (called "When Helping Hurts:  A Day of Healing for the Helping Professional" by L. Krawchuk).

PLEASE NOTE: THIS DOCUMENTARY IS A FULL FEATURE 73 MINUTE FILM WHICH INCLUDES RESOLUTION OF CENTRAL DILEMMAS,  THE FIRST SECTION OF IT AT 15-17 MINUTES ILLUSTRATES WHAT SECONDARY TRAUMA IS.