Compassion Satisfaction/Fatigue Self Test for Helpers

Helping others puts you in direct contact with other people’s lives. As you probably have experienced, your compassion for those you help has both positive and negative aspects. This self-test helps you estimate your compassion status: How much at risk you are of burnout and compassion fatigue and also the degree of satisfaction with your helping others. Consider each of the following characteristics about you and your current situation. Write in the number that honestly reflects how frequently you experienced these characteristics in the last week. Then follow the scoring directions at the end of the self-test.

0	1	2	3	4	5
Never	Rarely	A Few Times	Somewhat Often	Often	Very Often

1.I am happy.

0 Never

1 Rarely

2 A Few Times

3 Somewhat Often

4 Often

5 Very Often

2.I find my life satisfying.

0 Never

1 Rarely

2 A Few Times

3 Somewhat Often

4 Often

5 Very Often

3.I have beliefs that sustain me.

0 Never

1 Rarely

2 A Few Times

3 Somewhat Often

4 Often

5 Very Often

4.I feel estranged from others.

0 Never

1 Rarely

2 A Few Times

3 Somewhat Often

4 Often

5 Very Often

5.I find that I learn new things from those I care for.

0 Never

1 Rarely

2 A Few Times

3 Somewhat Often

4 Often

5 Very Often

6.I force myself to avoid certain thoughts or feelings that remind me of a frightening experience.

0 Never

1 Rarely

2 A Few Times

3 Somewhat Often

4 Often

5 Very Often

7.I find myself avoiding certain activities or situations because they remind me of a frightening experience.

0 Never

1 Rarely

2 A Few Times

3 Somewhat Often

4 Often

5 Very Often

8.I have gaps in my memory about frightening events.

0 Never

1 Rarely

2 A Few Times

3 Somewhat Often

4 Often

5 Very Often

9.I feel connected to others.

0 Never

1 Rarely

2 A Few Times

3 Somewhat Often

4 Often

5 Very Often

10.I feel calm.

0 Never

1 Rarely

2 A Few Times

3 Somewhat Often

4 Often

5 Very Often

11.I believe that I have a good balance between my work and my free time.

0 Never

1 Rarely

2 A Few Times

3 Somewhat Often

4 Often

5 Very Often

12.I have difficulty falling or staying asleep.

0 Never

1 Rarely

2 A Few Times

3 Somewhat Often

4 Often

5 Very Often

13.I have outbursts of anger or irritability with little provocation.

0 Never

1 Rarely

2 A Few Times

3 Somewhat Often

4 Often

5 Very Often

14.I am the person I always wanted to be.

0 Never

1 Rarely

2 A Few Times

3 Somewhat Often

4 Often

5 Very Often

15.I startle easily.

0 Never

1 Rarely

2 A Few Times

3 Somewhat Often

4 Often

5 Very Often

16.While working with a victim, I thought about violence against the perpetrator.

0 Never

1 Rarely

2 A Few Times

3 Somewhat Often

4 Often

5 Very Often

17.I am a sensitive person.

0 Never

1 Rarely

2 A Few Times

3 Somewhat Often

4 Often

5 Very Often

18.I have flashbacks connected to those I help.

0 Never

1 Rarely

2 A Few Times

3 Somewhat Often

4 Often

5 Very Often

19.I have good peer support when I need to work through a highly stressful experience.

0 Never

1 Rarely

2 A Few Times

3 Somewhat Often

4 Often

5 Very Often

20.I have had firsthand experience with traumatic events in my adult life.

0 Never

1 Rarely

2 A Few Times

3 Somewhat Often

4 Often

5 Very Often

21.I have had firsthand experience with traumatic events in my childhood.

0 Never

1 Rarely

2 A Few Times

3 Somewhat Often

4 Often

5 Very Often

22.I think that I need to “work through” a traumatic experience in my life.

0 Never

1 Rarely

2 A Few Times

3 Somewhat Often

4 Often

5 Very Often

23.I think that I need more close friends.

0 Never

1 Rarely

2 A Few Times

3 Somewhat Often

4 Often

5 Very Often

24.I think that there is no one to talk with about highly stressful experiences.

0 Never

1 Rarely

2 A Few Times

3 Somewhat Often

4 Often

5 Very Often

25.I have concluded that I work too hard for my own good.

0 Never

1 Rarely

2 A Few Times

3 Somewhat Often

4 Often

5 Very Often

26.Working with those I help brings me a great deal of satisfaction.

0 Never

1 Rarely

2 A Few Times

3 Somewhat Often

4 Often

5 Very Often

27.I feel invigorated after working with those I help.

0 Never

1 Rarely

2 A Few Times

3 Somewhat Often

4 Often

5 Very Often

28.I am frightened of things a person I helped has said or done to me.

0 Never

1 Rarely

2 A Few Times

3 Somewhat Often

4 Often

5 Very Often

29.I experience troubling dreams similar to those I help.

0 Never

1 Rarely

2 A Few Times

3 Somewhat Often

4 Often

5 Very Often

30.I have happy thoughts about those I help and how I could help them.

0 Never

1 Rarely

2 A Few Times

3 Somewhat Often

4 Often

5 Very Often

31.I have experienced intrusive thoughts of times with difficult people I helped.

0 Never

1 Rarely

2 A Few Times

3 Somewhat Often

4 Often

5 Very Often

32.I have suddenly and involuntarily recalled a frightening experience while working with a person I helped.

0 Never

1 Rarely

2 A Few Times

3 Somewhat Often

4 Often

5 Very Often

33.I am preoccupied with more than one person I help.

0 Never

1 Rarely

2 A Few Times

3 Somewhat Often

4 Often

5 Very Often

34.I am losing sleep over a person I help with traumatic experiences.

0 Never

1 Rarely

2 A Few Times

3 Somewhat Often

4 Often

5 Very Often

35.I have joyful feelings about how I can help the victims I work with.

0 Never

1 Rarely

2 A Few Times

3 Somewhat Often

4 Often

5 Very Often

36.I think that I might have been “infected” by the traumatic stress of those I help.

0 Never

1 Rarely

2 A Few Times

3 Somewhat Often

4 Often

5 Very Often

37.I think that I might be positively “inoculated” by the traumatic stress of those I help.

0 Never

1 Rarely

2 A Few Times

3 Somewhat Often

4 Often

5 Very Often

38.I remind myself to be less concerned about the well-being of those I help.

0 Never

1 Rarely

2 A Few Times

3 Somewhat Often

4 Often

5 Very Often

39.I have felt trapped by my work as a helper.

0 Never

1 Rarely

2 A Few Times

3 Somewhat Often

4 Often

5 Very Often

40.I have a sense of hopelessness associated with working with those I help.

0 Never

1 Rarely

2 A Few Times

3 Somewhat Often

4 Often

5 Very Often

41.I have felt “on edge” about various things, and I attribute this to working with certain people I help.

0 Never

1 Rarely

2 A Few Times

3 Somewhat Often

4 Often

5 Very Often

42.I wish that I could avoid working with some people I help.

0 Never

1 Rarely

2 A Few Times

3 Somewhat Often

4 Often

5 Very Often

43.Some people I help are particularly enjoyable to work with.

0 Never

1 Rarely

2 A Few Times

3 Somewhat Often

4 Often

5 Very Often

44.I have been in danger working with people I help.

0 Never

1 Rarely

2 A Few Times

3 Somewhat Often

4 Often

5 Very Often

45.I feel that some people I help dislike me personally.

0 Never

1 Rarely

2 A Few Times

3 Somewhat Often

4 Often

5 Very Often

46.I like my work as a helper.

0 Never

1 Rarely

2 A Few Times

3 Somewhat Often

4 Often

5 Very Often

47.I feel like I have the tools and resources that I need to do my work as a helper.

0 Never

1 Rarely

2 A Few Times

3 Somewhat Often

4 Often

5 Very Often

48.I have felt weak, tired, run-down as a result of my work as a helper.

0 Never

1 Rarely

2 A Few Times

3 Somewhat Often

4 Often

5 Very Often

49.I have felt depressed as a result of my work as a helper.

0 Never

1 Rarely

2 A Few Times

3 Somewhat Often

4 Often

5 Very Often

50.I have thoughts that I am a “success” as a helper.

0 Never

1 Rarely

2 A Few Times

3 Somewhat Often

4 Often

5 Very Often

51.I am unsuccessful at separating helping from personal life.

0 Never

1 Rarely

2 A Few Times

3 Somewhat Often

4 Often

5 Very Often

52.I enjoy my coworkers.

0 Never

1 Rarely

2 A Few Times

3 Somewhat Often

4 Often

5 Very Often

53.I depend on my coworkers to help me when I need it.

0 Never

1 Rarely

2 A Few Times

3 Somewhat Often

4 Often

5 Very Often

54.My coworkers can depend on me for help when they need it.

0 Never

1 Rarely

2 A Few Times

3 Somewhat Often

4 Often

5 Very Often

55.I trust my coworkers.

0 Never

1 Rarely

2 A Few Times

3 Somewhat Often

4 Often

5 Very Often

56.I feel little compassion toward most of my coworkers.

0 Never

1 Rarely

2 A Few Times

3 Somewhat Often

4 Often

5 Very Often

57.I am pleased with how I am able to keep up with helping technology.

0 Never

1 Rarely

2 A Few Times

3 Somewhat Often

4 Often

5 Very Often

58.I feel I am working more for the money/prestige than for personal fulfillment.

0 Never

1 Rarely

2 A Few Times

3 Somewhat Often

4 Often

5 Very Often

59.Although I have to do paperwork that I don’t like, I still have time to work with those I help.

0 Never

1 Rarely

2 A Few Times

3 Somewhat Often

4 Often

5 Very Often

60.I find it difficult to separate my personal life from my helper life.

0 Never

1 Rarely

2 A Few Times

3 Somewhat Often

4 Often

5 Very Often

61.I am pleased with how I am able to keep up with helping techniques and protocols.

0 Never

1 Rarely

2 A Few Times

3 Somewhat Often

4 Often

5 Very Often

62.I have a sense of worthlessness/disillusionment/resentment associated with my role as a helper.

0 Never

1 Rarely

2 A Few Times

3 Somewhat Often

4 Often

5 Very Often

63.I have thoughts that I am a “failure” as a helper.

0 Never

1 Rarely

2 A Few Times

3 Somewhat Often

4 Often

5 Very Often

64.I have thoughts that I am not succeeding at achieving my life goals.

0 Never

1 Rarely

2 A Few Times

3 Somewhat Often

4 Often

5 Very Often

65.I have to deal with bureaucratic, unimportant tasks in my work as a helper.

0 Never

1 Rarely

2 A Few Times

3 Somewhat Often

4 Often

5 Very Often

66.I plan to be a helper for a long time

0 Never

1 Rarely

2 A Few Times

3 Somewhat Often

4 Often

5 Very Often