Groundbreaking Book Offers New Treatment for Compassion Fatigue – the Leading Cause of Burnout Among Professional Care Providers
Compassion Fatigue is the leading cause of burnout in the healthcare industry today. Breath of Relief offers a new and specific approach to transform burnout into peak performance.
Boston, MA (PRWEB) April 30, 2005
Acanthus Publishing of Boston announces the publication of Breath of Relief: Transforming Compassion Fatigue into Flow, an illustrated guide that offers the first thorough examination of the causes, symptoms, and cures for Secondary Traumatic Stress Syndrome, also known as “Compassion Fatigue.” Written by the nation’s leading expert on Compassion Fatigue, Karl LaRowe, the groundbreaking book comes with an instructional DVD that shows Karl demonstrating his FlowMotion™ techniques for releasing the effects of secondary traumatic stress trapped in the body. These techniques combine movement and breathing exercises to reintegrate the mind, body, and breath. With FlowMotion™, care providers can maintain health and alertness on the job and combat the depression, drug abuse, and occupational burnout that often results from repeated exposure to the trauma and suffering of others.
“Breath of Relief is a breakthrough examination of a current major crisis affecting the professional care industries as well as an indispensable text for any caregiver facing critical burnout,” says the book’s publisher, Paige Stover Hague, President of Acanthus Publishing of Boston. “Karl’s FlowMotion™ techniques will help America’s overworked, overstressed care providers find the physical and emotional stamina to continue their important work.”
In Breath of Relief, LaRowe explains why Compassion Fatigue is becoming a major occupational hazard among today’s care providers. “It’s common knowledge among health care providers that care giving can come with a price,” he says. “Doctors, nurses, social workers, counselors, hospital staff, basically anyone involved in health care is being called upon to spend more time, energy, attention, and intention to help alleviate the pain of others. If we’re not careful we can absorb victims’ pain, which leads to a massive stress build-up, Compassion Fatigue, and occupational burnout.”
To fight Compassion Fatigue, LaRowe developed FlowMotion™, a series of exercises based on the Chinese martial art of Qigong, which he studied thoroughly during his stay in Singapore as the Clinical Director for the Singapore Association of Mental Health. Breath of Relief concludes with an extended study and description of FlowMotion™ and the way it lets the body release stagnant energy stored as a result of Compassion Fatigue. Detailed black-and-white illustrations offer a step-by-step breakdown of stress-busting movements and exercises, and the instructional DVD accompanying the book gives readers a chance to practice their FlowMotion™ techniques in sync with Karl.
Breath of Relief: Transforming Compassion Fatigue into Flow is available for purchase for $39.95 at www. breathofrelief. com and www. acanthuspublishing. com. Complimentary review copies are available upon request to the media.
About Karl LaRowe:
Karl LaRowe, MA, LCSW, is the leading authority on Compassion Fatigue in the English-speaking world and a recognized expert on traumatic stress disorders. After earning an MA in clinical social work and working as a therapist in a trauma ward, Karl burned out completely, suffering from depression and remaining functional only through the use of prescription medications. In 1990 he moved to Southeast Asia, where he became the clinical director of the Singapore Association for Mental Health, consultant to the National Council of Social Services, and trainer in stress management. In an effort to manage his symptoms he began to study Qigong. Using these martial art movements in combination with his own regime of stress relieving exercise, Karl has overcome his depression and remained drug-free since 1991. Karl has researched and originated ways of combining eastern methods of meditation and movement with western ideas of psychology and hard clinical data. He currently provides clinical services as a mental health investigator and expert witness in commitment hearings and trains health care providers and other caregivers throughout the country in ways to recognize and relieve traumatic stress.
For more information on Karl LaRowe, please visit his web site at www. breathofrelief. com, or contact James Richie at 617-230-2167 or james@ictusinitiative. com.
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