#259 - Compassion As A Psychophysiologic Remedy for Burnout with Catherine Schweikert

Compassion takes empathy one step further because it harbors a desire for all people to be free from suffering, and it's imbued with a desire to help. In this enlightening episode, Dr. Tarryn MacCarthy is joined by the esteemed Author and Clinician Communication Coach Catherine Schweikert. Together, they delve deep into the transformative power of compassion and its profound effects on our well-being, particularly in combating burnout.

Catherine has practiced medicine for the last 22 years. She has witnessed, over time, an increase in dissatisfaction with the practice of medicine and an increase in burnout among both her and her colleagues. 

Her inspiration comes from their struggles and passion for bringing competent, compassionate care to all their patients without sacrificing themselves. She began her journey as a clinician communication coach.  This role gave her great insight into the struggle to maintain their passion for medicine. She began to investigate and understand her struggles and barriers to giving and receiving compassion personally and professionally. Through writing, she found Pragmatic Compassion. Pragmatic Compassion is the concept that compassion needs heart and wisdom to be effective. She started to dive into how our psychological world affects our physical world.

She began a Ph.D. in psychophysiology, studying how our mind affects our well-being. Through these experiences, she was encouraged to share her insights more formally.  She wrote The Compassion Remedy: How to Leverage the Psychophysiological Benefits of Compassion to Beat Burnout, Renew Relationships, and Enjoy Greater Well-Being. Through writing this book, she was accepted into Stanford University Medical School’s Center for Compassion and Altruism and Research (CCARE) program of Applied Compassion. It was here that she developed, with the support of Stanford, a program for hospitals to apply the scientifically proven and research-based aspects of compassion. She did this to improve, first and foremost, the clinician’s grounded, compassionate base so that they may be strong and vital enough to help their patients heal without giving away their vitality.

Learn more about Catherine:
Website: http://www.pragmaticcompassion.org/

Preorder a copy of her book: http://www.worldchangers.media/catherine-schweikert-the-compassion-remedy

Show notes:
[2:05] How did Catherine come to write her book?
[4:21] Compassion fatigue
[12:05] Compassion fatigue or exhaustion?
[17:25] The limitation of self-judgment on self-compassion
[21:32] Join The Radical Happiness For Practitioners Program to rediscover happiness within your profession and life. Check out https://www.thebizofhappiness.com/radicalhappiness
[22:56] The concept of equanimity
[28:27] Fierce compassion
[33:12] Where does compassion fall in healing relationships?
[38:49] The Compassion Remedy
[39:23] Where to find Catherine
[41:10] What is her definition of happiness?
[42:27] Outro

If you would like to connect with Tarryn directly to find out if Radical Happiness is right for you, please use this link to connect with her one-on-one:
https://calendly.com/drtarrynmaccarthy/complementary-prosperity-and-possibilities-chat

Sign up to Radical Happiness and become the Happiest Practitioner: https://www.thebizofhappiness.com/radicalhappiness

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