Maddie’s Insights: Helping the Helpers: Improving shelter staff well-being - On Demand
Recorded On: 03/13/2025
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Maddie's® Insights is our ongoing webcast series with practical tips based on current research to help pets and people.
Presenters:
Peter J. Wolf, Research and Policy Analyst, Best Friends Animal Society
Amanda Weiss, PsyD, Licensed Clinical Psychologist
Program Description: Shelters and rescue groups have shown great resilience, finding innovative ways to save animals despite major challenges. However, many workers face burnout and compassion fatigue, leading some to leave the field.
In 2023, Best Friends conducted the largest U.S. survey on shelter staff well-being. Nearly half of respondents reported high compassion satisfaction, and most plan to stay in their roles. Yet, over half showed high burnout, and over 90% had high compassion fatigue, raising concerns about staff well-being and the sustainability of lifesaving efforts.
This presentation will focus on positive solutions and how shelters can learn from veterinary well-being practices to support staff and volunteers.
Learning objectives:
Participants will learn about (1) the difference between burnout and compassion fatigue (2) the results of our well-being survey, and (3) what we can learn from innovative veterinary well-being practices.
Specifically, attendees will learn to:
1. Feel validated for working in a profession in which multiple (potentially sensitive) factors are always in play: financial pressure, emergency cases, humane euthanasia, fast-paced environment, a steady influx of more animals to help, etc.
2. Understand that we can manage our own responses by implementing and practicing skills, and that our reaction influences those around us.
3. Trust that the strongest intervention to burnout and compassion fatigue is thoughtful and deliberate prevention, especially in the context of not being able to fully predict or control our work environment.
4. Appreciate that proactive conversations will likely need to occur with many colleagues and within all levels of leadership, including needs assessments, expectations, deliverables, and healthy boundaries.
Earn continuing education credit from The Association for Animal Welfare Advancement towards 1.0 CAWA CEs. This webinar has also been pre-approved for 1.0 continuing education credits by the National Animal Care & Control Association (NACA). It has also been approved for 1 hour of continuing education credit until 1/31/2027 in jurisdictions which recognize RACE approval. Complete the quiz to earn continuing education credit.
Visit Maddie's Pet Forum to comment, follow a discussion or ask questions: https://maddies.fund/MIwebcast...
keywords Maddie's Insights, Peter J. Wolf, Amanda Weiss, PsyD, animal shelter staff well-being, Best Friends Animal Society
Peter J. Wolf
Research and Policy Analyst
Best Friends Animal Society
Peter J. Wolf is the research and policy analyst for Best Friends, a leader in the development and operation of community cat programs. Peter's role involves the analysis of science and public policy related to community cat issues, a topic he's been researching and writing about for nearly seven years.
Peter holds a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering and a master's degree in industrial design. His professional experience has focused on the acquisition, analysis, and synthesis of quantitative and qualitative data. As a lecturer in The Design School at Arizona State University, Peter taught courses in product design, visual communication design, design thinking and qualitative research methods.
Amanda Weiss, PsyD
Licensed Clinical Psychologist
Dr. Amanda Weiss is a licensed clinical psychologist who received her doctorate in Clinical Psychology (PsyD) from the American School of Professional Psychology - Washington, DC in 2014. She has a research background in suicide bereavement and has worked in private practice, community mental health, and hospital settings in Virginia, Washington DC, and Florida. Dr. Weiss currently maintains a private practice specializing in grief, traumatic loss, pet bereavement, mood and anxiety disorders, mental health in veterinary medicine and animal welfare, and Acceptance & Commitment Therapy. Through Not One More Vet’s Veterinary Mental Health Support program, she provides individual and group support services as well as psychoeducational presentations and workshops to veterinary medicine professionals. Dr. Weiss also works at the Faulk Center for Counseling as a clinical program manager and supervises graduate students, interns, and postdoctoral residents.
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