Work of HeArt: Addressing Educator Compassion Fatigue with Art Therapy

ABSTRACT

Kindergarten through 12^th grade (K-12) educators across the country are experiencing compassion fatigue from extended amounts of time with children reporting adverse childhood experiences. Additional stress from teaching through the COVID-19 pandemic has also led to burnout in United States’ educators, compounding the effects of both phenomena. An impending educator shortage may occur if the mental health of educators is not addressed. A series of mindfulness-based art therapy workshops designed to address compassion fatigue were implemented at an elementary school in a large Midwestern city. Thirty-four kindergarten and first-grade educators participated in eight monthly workshops over the course of one academic year. Workshops were designed based on a needs assessment completed by the educators. Results of the post-workshop questionnaire suggested that mindfulness-based art therapy was beneficial in addressing compassion fatigue. Five overarching themes about the program were identified from the questionnaires. Participants indicated that 1) allowing space for creativity, 2) learning creative ways to manage stress, 3) having opportunities for social connections, 4) discovering useful tools to express themselves, and 5) having dedicated time for themselves were all benefits reaped from the workshops. Participants overwhelmingly (93%) agreed that the workshops helped address compassion fatigue.

KEYWORDS:

• educators
• compassion fatigue
• burnout
• art therapy
• mindfulness
• creativity in counseling

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The work was supported by the University of Indianapolis [Grant #995023].