Wired to Care: How Compassion Replenishes and Makes You Strong – Emiliana Simon-Thomas, PhD, Greater Good Science Center

This course will begin by making the case that compassion lies at the core of human evolutionary success. According to multiple disciplines, attuning to others and care-giving are fundamental competencies that strengthen one’s chances for surviving and thriving throughout life. Then, by surveying the biological systems and psychological processes that give rise to compassion, the course will chart out the specific ways that compassion bolsters health and well-being, and at the same time, guards against precursors of Burnout like exhaustion and diffidence. Through guided practices and exercises, participants will learn how to leverage compassion for enhanced resilience in the face of persistent, emotionally demanding work – and maintain that advantage. In contrast to the concept of compassion fatigue, findings from compassion training intervention studies suggests that embracing life’s difficulties and fully engaging the urge to nurture, the hallmarks of compassion, unwaveringly strengthens our capacity to handle and recover gracefully from adversity. Overall, this course will provide the intellectual justification, the know-how, and actionable strategies for tapping into and sustainably emboldening compassion in day-to-day life.

There are no CEs available for this course.

Course Objectives

At the conclusion of this course, participants will be able to:
1) Accurately define, and describe the evolutionary perspective on compassion
2) Describe the key psychological processes that give rise to compassion
3) Describe the main biological systems involved in compassion
4) Explain how regularly engaging the processes and systems that support compassion strengthens resilience (i.e. guards against so-called compassion fatigue)
5) Incorporate research-backed exercises and activities for strengthening compassion, into their daily life.

Continuing Education Information

There are no CEs available for this course.