Help for the Helper: The Psychophysiology of Compassion Fatigue and Vicarious Trauma (Norton Professional Books) [Hardcover]

Babette Rothschild (Author), Marjorie Rand (Contributor)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 2006 | ISBN-10: 039370422X | ISBN-13: 978-0393704228 | Edition: 1

How empathy can jeopardize a therapist's well-being.

Therapist burnout is a pressing issue, and self-care is possible only when therapists actively help themselves. The authors examine the literature from neurobiology, social psychology, and folk psychology in order to explain how therapists suffer from an excess of empathy for their clients, and then they present strategies for dealing with burnout and stress.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Full of useful ideas and practices for almost anyone who is struggling to take care of a human in need. (Greater Good, Matthew Wheeland) REVIEW: Very useful to practicing psychotherapists, social workers, nurses, psychiatrists, and especially those in training. (Bulletin of the Menninger Clinic, Paula Hensley)

About the Author

Babette Rothschild, MSW, LCSW, has been a practicing psychotherapist since 1976. Author of 8 Keys to Safe Trauma Recovery and the best-selling The Body Remembers, and member of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, she gives lectures and professional trainings around the world. She lives in Los Angeles.

Marjorie Rand lives in Manhattan Beach, California.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company; 1 edition (March 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 039370422X
• ISBN-13: 978-0393704228
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 1 x 9.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #125,497 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

The best-selling author of The Body Remembers, Babette is releasing a new book dedicated to trauma recovery, 8 Keys to Safe Trauma Recovery. Self-help readers, therapy clients, and therapists alike will find the eight keys--drawn from Rothschild's decades of experience--a clear and compassionate guide.

Babette continues to write, currently working on book #5 and editing a series of 8 Keys books. Several months a year you will find her traveling the globe as a popular lecturer, traininer, and consultant.

You are welcome to contact Babette by email: [e-mail] or [e-mail]. And please go to You Tube to see her latest video clip (you will need to copy the URL and paste it into your browser):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhuzpUlaX_k

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

68 of 68 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Thank you! This book will help many helping professionals. March 21, 2006

By Helping Professional

Format:Hardcover

I read Help for the Helper cover to cover as soon as it arrived and all I can say is WOW and THANK YOU!! This is a book that addresses the needs of helping professionals--all sorts! Babette Rothschild begins the book with a preface on "Common Sense;" something we all need for taking care of ourselves (and our clients, for that matter). She's become a kind of champion of Common Sense in psychology and I'm glad to see her apply this important life-tool to the self-care of professionals. Her three central chapters begin with theory of neurophysiology: on Empathy, Arousal and Clear Thinking. She then goes on to outline things we can easily do to combat the consequences of our work and avoid burnout, vicarious trauma and compassion fatigue. Though the book examples are pointed to psychotherapists, the theory and the exercises will be useful to anyone (like me) in the helping professions. One thing that stands out is that she underscores us each finding the tools that help us best. She offers expert advice without having to be "the" expert. Consistent with her advocacy of common sense, she knows that each professional has to find his or her optimal combination of resources. For those who are interested in neurophysiology, this book covers cutting edge theories and research, including the recent discovery of mirror neurons. For the psychotherapist, sections on countertransference and projective identification offer a fresh view on these core concepts. I believe that anyone in the helping professions, including those who pitch in following disasters, will find this book to be a huge help for their own well-being.

26 of 31 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars help for the helper February 11, 2007

By Helayne Van Sickle

Format:Hardcover

this is an excellent resource book both for personal as well as professional reasons. i wish this book was available 30 + years ago when I started my journey of helping others. this book should be included into the required reading of any psych/counseling curriculum.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful Book August 13, 2009

By Alexander Lapinski

Format:Hardcover

I am so glad I was assigned this book in social work school. I experienced compassion fatigue shortly before reading this book after witnessing a particularly traumatic hospitalization. The book superbly described to me what I was experiencing and made me more at ease. I already meditate, but the book has that and other excellent self-care suggestions that all in the helping professions should be aware of.