Empathy and Compassion – Post-Secondary Peer Support Training …

Accessibility Statement

Acknowledgements

Creative Commons License

Introduction

Glossary of Terms

A Pathway to Hope

What is Peer Support?

Peer Services in Post-Secondary Institutions

Core Values of Peer Support

Trauma-Informed Approach

Standards of Practice for Peer Support Workers

References

Hope and Wholeness for All

You Are a Part of a Movement

A Paradigm Shift

Discomfort and Safety

Practices that will Support Your Learning

Interconnection, Relationships, and the Work of Peer Support

The Importance of Language Awareness and a Strength-Based Approach in This Work

Empathy

Dealing with Uncertainty

The Role of Hope in this Work

References

Hope and Wholeness for All

Section 1: Examining Worldview and Implicit Biases

Life Application Story

Connection and Over-Relating

Worldview

We All Judge

Categories and Containers

Implicit Bias

Confirmation Bias

Certainty and Uncertainty

Perception

Everyone Has a Story

Putting it Together: Supporting Others

Section 2: Understanding Self-Determination

Life Application Story

What is Self-Determination?

Self-Determination Theory

Encouragement and Self-Determination

Ecology of Self-Determination

You are the Expert on You

Avoid Advice-Giving

Creating Safety

References

Hope and Wholeness for All

Culture Defined

Components of Culture

When Identifying With a Culture Doesn’t fit Anymore

Worldview and Culture

Social Norms

Examples of Societal Culture

Popular Culture, Subcultures & Counterculture

Impact of Colonization on Indigenous Peoples’ Culture

Cultural Humility

Cultural Appropriation

Newcomers to British Columbia

International Students

Honouring Other Cultures in Peer Work

References

Hope and Wholeness for All

Life Application Stories

Introduction

Core Values and Boundaries

Fundamental Principles Within Peer Support

Clarity on Boundaries

The Fluidity of Boundaries

Role Clarification and Boundaries

Worldview and Biases in Boundary Creation

Social Media & Digital Communication

Communicating Our Boundaries

Personal Boundaries

Empathy and Self-Determination

References

Hope and Wholeness for All

Life Application Story

Let’s Start with Hope

SAMHSA’s Definition of Trauma-Informed Care

SAMHSA’s Six Principles of Trauma-Informed Care

What is Emotional and Psychological Trauma?

Vicarious Trauma, Secondary Traumatic Stress, and Retraumatization

Systemic Trauma

Examples of Systemic Trauma

Hope for our World

Trauma and Its Impact on Health

The Vagus Nerve

What Does it Mean to be Trauma-Informed?

Intergenerational Trauma

The Importance of Safety, Predictability and Choice in Our Peer Support Interactions

Radical Healing & Connection

References

Hope and Wholeness for All

Intentional Communication

Intent

Self-Disclosure - Sharing About Yourself

Listening to Understand

Compassionate Curiosity - Asking Good Questions

Connection, Disconnection & Reconnection

Safety in Communication

Deep Listening Self-Assessment

Working Through Conflict

Debate vs. Dialogue

Empathy and Compassion

Obstacles to Communication

Have Fun!

References

Hope and Wholeness for All

Section 1: Mental Health Including Supporting Someone who is Experiencing an Acute Psychiatric Crisis

VERY IMPORTANT

Supporting Someone in Crisis

When Someone You Are Supporting is Experiencing an Acute Psychiatric Crisis

Mental Health Diagnoses

Resilience & Recovery

When Someone you Support is in an Acute Psychiatric Crisis

Understanding Psychosis

Self-Harm

Suicide

The Power of a Hopeful Response to Suicidal Ideation

Supporting Yourself

Section 2: Mental Health Supporting Someone who is Grieving

Life Application Story

Understanding Loss

Unpacking Old Paradigms of Cycles of Grief

Collective Grief

We Can’t Fix it: Supporting Someone Who is Grieving

Holding Space When Someone is Grieving

Section 3: Harm Reduction and Supporting Someone Who Uses Substances

Using Substances

Harm Reduction

A Peer Support Approach to Supporting Students Who Use Substances

References

Hope and Wholeness for All

Life Application Story

Overview of all 12 Social Determinants of Health (SDOH)

Equity vs. Equality

Poverty, Homelessness & Food Insecurity

Inequities in Mental Health

Disability

LGBTQ2+

Intersectionality

Systemic Racism

Stigma, Discrimination and Prejudice

Three Types of Stigma: Public, Internalized, and Stigma-by-Association

Social Justice, Advocacy & Moving Forward with Hope

References

Hope and Wholeness for All

Life Application Story

Redefining Self-Care

Interconnection and Societal Change

Wellness for Yourself as an Individual

Defining the Term “Resilience”

Self-Compassion - An Overview

Stress and Overwhelm

Working Through Big Feelings

Protecting Ourselves from Burnout

My Emotional Well-Being Inventory

Routines and Daily Practices

Boundaries with Time

Stressors or Triggers

My Window of Tolerance

References

Hope and Wholeness for All

Section 1: Leadership Theory

What is Leadership?

Power and Leadership

The Core Values

Peer Support Core Values and Leadership

Section 2: Personal Leadership Exercises

Reflections on Leadership

Exercises in Developing Your Leadership Skills

Section 3: Facilitation Skills

Facilitation Skills for Delivering Workshops and Leading Events

The Facilitation Process

Create an Agenda or Lesson Plan

Adult Learning Principles

References

Appendix 1: Authors and Contributors

Versioning History

Empathy and compassion are mentioned often in this training, and it’s easy to lump them together. They are similar, and there is some crossover, but they are also different in important ways.

In her book I Thought It Was Just Me (But It Isn’t) (2008), Brené Brown references nursing scholar Teresa Wiseman’s four attributes of empathy:

A key difference is that compassion always involves a desire for action. While we first need to see someone’s suffering, compassion is about channeling our empathetic feelings into action. Compassion taps into common humanity and the fact that we all have a deep understanding of what it means to suffer. Since all of us have a personal understanding of suffering, when we experience compassion we are motivated to reach out to someone in pain or struggle and to support the alleviation of their suffering.

Self-compassion is about choosing to see and acknowledge our own suffering. It is about offering a compassionate response to our suffering, instead of blaming or judging ourselves and letting our inner critic beat us up. We will look at this in greater detail in Module 14: Building Personal Resilience.

What are your reflections about the difference between empathy and compassion?

Post-Secondary Peer Support Training Curriculum by Jenn Cusick is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

Post-Secondary Peer Support Training Curriculum by Jenn Cusick is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

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