Transcending Empathy Fatigue: Cultivating Empathy Resiliency focuses on the phenomenon of empathy fatigue-a word and construct developed by the author in 1998, which results in a state of psychological, emotional, mental, physical, spiritual, and occupational exhaustion experienced by professionals continually revisiting their clients' stories of trauma, loss, grief, illness, and disability. The book probes into the unique challenges faced by mental health professionals, nurses, physicians, first responders, and others engaged in client/patient-focused occupations. The author offers guidelines for cultivating optimal personal and professional well-being. This text delves into the unique aspects of this professional impairment and distinguishes it from related conditions like compassion fatigue and burnout. It introduces and evaluates various measurement tools, such as the Global Assessment of Empathy Fatigue Functioning (GAEF-III) and the Counselor Empathy Fatigue Scale (CEFS), designed to help professionals identify, prevent, and treat empathy fatigue. Through theoretical and practical context, the book offers guidance on facilitating empathy resilience. Transcending Empathy Fatigue is an integral resource for courses and training dealing with professional issues and ethics, self-care practices, and clinical supervision in therapeutic settings. It is also an ideal guide for those in clinical practice who regularly experience intense client and patient interactions.
Mark A. Stebnicki, Ph.D., LCMHC, CRC, DCMHS is a licensed clinical mental health counselor in North Carolina, professor emeritus at East Carolina University, developer, and instructor of the Clinical Military Counseling Certificate (CMCC) program offered through the Telehealth Certificate Institute. He is the author of 11 professional texts and has been a practitioner, counselor educator, and researcher with over 30 years of experience. Dr. Stebnicki's specialty area includes working with civilian and military individuals with traumatic stress, loss, grief, chronic illnesses, and disabilities.
"Being present with people who are revealing stories of pain, loss, trauma, and grief takes a toll on mental health providers. We are challenged to recognize and manage empathy fatigue by incorporating self-care practices in our personal and professional life. In this timely and practical book, Dr. Mark Stebnicki informs us of multiple ways of reducing empathy fatigue and increasing empathy resiliency. This is a book that I highly recommend to students and helping professionals." Gerald Corey, Ed.D., ABPP, Distinguished Visiting Professor of Counseling at the University of Holy Cross in New Orleans "Dr. Mark Stebnicki, the renowned expert on empathy fatigue, has once again written a most relevant book that couldn't be timelier. An ideal resource for practicing mental health clinicians, clinical supervisors, and those training to counsel others, Transcending Empathy Fatigue: Cultivating Empathy Resiliency addresses a topic that weighs heavily on the minds of helping professionals in all specialty areas. The magnitude of the stressors that have traumatized countless people in recent years, including the COVID-19 pandemic, vitriolic politics, the increase in tribalism, hate, and other brazen acts of oppression against minoritized groups, and other person-made disasters, not to mention the increase in natural disasters caused in part by the changing climate, have overwhelmed those in the helping professions. Serving a greater number of clients who are experiencing such severe pain and distress naturally takes a toll and can deplete one's coping resources. Stebnicki has developed an invaluable resource that provides sage guidance for any mental health professional in search of tools and practical strategies to help them not only weather the storm of stressors that tend to erode empathy, but to cultivate optimal levels of wellness and strengthen resilience. I know that this book will be a frequently used resource on my bookshelf!" Michelle Muratori, Ph.D., Lecturer, Counseling and Educational Studies, Johns Hopkins University
