Summit Partners with United Way of Greater Atlanta to Offer Support Forum for Frontline Responders

In order to help frontline responders in our communities, The Summit Counseling Center and United Way of Greater Atlanta are partnering together to offer a support VIRTUAL forum for those who may be experiencing stress, anxiety, and compassion fatigue from their role as a helper during COVID19.

What is Compassion Fatigue in the midst of Covid-19?

Covid-19 is taking a physical, mental and emotional toll on our first responders, healthcare providers and emergency relief helpers. The long work hours and limited resources are causing exhaustion, helplessness, and hopelessness among those working on the frontline. Not to mention the anxiety caused from trying to balance work life with the concerns for one’s own safety and the safety of family and loved ones.

“The most insidious aspect of compassion fatigue is that it attacks the very core of what brings helpers into this work: their empathy and compassion for others.” Figley Institute 2012

According to The Substance and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), compassion fatigue is made up of two main components: burnout (the emotional and physical fatigue experienced by professionals due to their chronic use of empathy in helping others in distress) and secondary traumatic stress (secondary exposure to extremely or traumatically stressful events).