/library/oar/handle/123456789/933 2025-12-23T08:19:33Z 2025-12-23T08:19:33Z /library/oar/handle/123456789/141207 2025-11-12T14:21:31Z 2021-08-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Pandemic fatigue and how to take charge of your well-being Abstract: This article discusses the profound mental health crisis resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, fulfilling the forecast made by the United Nations in May 2020. The crisis has especially impacted care home and supported housing staff and residents in Malta, where residents face high vulnerability due to age and health factors. Despite initial success in safeguarding the elderly during the first wave through measures like staff lockdowns, subsequent waves saw a rise in cases and deaths in residential facilities. The constant stress and pressure of these difficult working conditions have led to increased risks of psycho-emotional fatigue, compassion fatigue, and burnout among professional care workers. The article emphasizes that these feelings are a normal sign of caring and calls for urgent action to address the mental and emotional well-being of those affected.

2021-08-01T00:00:00Z /library/oar/handle/123456789/140662 2025-10-28T11:25:31Z 2025-10-24T00:00:00Z

Title: Joy in the noticing. How emotional intelligence can help you see happiness Abstract: We chase joy like it lives in the next achievement, the next purchase, the next big thing – all while the moments that could fill our hearts, quietly pass us by.

2025-10-24T00:00:00Z Kenely, Natalie /library/oar/handle/123456789/140524 2025-10-23T11:48:27Z 2022-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Compassion fatigue : understanding and transforming the cost of caring Authors: Kenely, Natalie Abstract: Compassion fatigue represents a profound occupational hazard for helping professionals whose work involves sustained exposure to others’ suffering. Distinct from burnout, compassion fatigue arises from empathic engagement with clients or patients and manifests as emotional, cognitive, behavioural, spiritual, and physical exhaustion. This paper offers a practice-focused theoretical reflection integrating research and professional experience. Drawing on the work of Figley (1993, 1995), Radey and Figley (2007), and subsequent scholars, it explores the nature, causes, and manifestations of compassion fatigue, contrasts it with burnout, and proposes strategies for transforming compassion fatigue into compassion satisfaction. Emphasis is placed on self-care, peer support, organisational culture, and leadership responsibility in fostering flourishing and resilience among professionals.

2022-01-01T00:00:00Z O’Leary, Donna Alfandari, Ravit Cowley, Laura Elizabeth Bertotti, Teresa Gautschi, Joel Gregory, Mark Helm, Duncan Killick, Campbell Lwin, Kristen Rölver, Michael Sicora, Alessandro Sørensen, Kresta Munkholt Suarez, Holger Taylor, Brian Nirmalarajan, Liesanth Yde /library/oar/handle/123456789/140523 2025-10-23T11:39:13Z 2025-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Advancing social work research and practice : celebrating ten years of the Decisions, Assessment and Risk Special Interest Group (DARSIG) Authors: O’Leary, Donna; Alfandari, Ravit; Cowley, Laura Elizabeth; Bertotti, Teresa; Gautschi, Joel; Gregory, Mark; Helm, Duncan; Killick, Campbell; Lwin, Kristen; Rölver, Michael; Sicora, Alessandro; Sørensen, Kresta Munkholt; Suarez, Holger; Taylor, Brian; Nirmalarajan, Liesanth Yde Abstract: Established in 2014 as one of several special interest groups under the European Social Work Research Association (ESWRA), the Decisions, Assessment and Risk Special Interest Group (DARSIG) set out to foster understanding related to these topics across client groups, practice domains, educational settings and countries. Today, the DARSIG has 108 members in 29 countries: Australia, Belgium, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Lithuania, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the US. This article outlines key insights emerging from the DARSIG’s work and activities to date. The absence of shared terminology poses a challenge in cross-national and cross-sectoral collaborations (Bertotti and Fargion, 2023). The DARSIG’s work to build mutual understanding has simultaneously deepened awareness of similarities and differences among national and local decision-making contexts. Key contributions include theoretical work on models of rationality for social work (see, for example, Taylor, 2021a; Helm, 2022; Helm et al, forthcoming), intuition in practice (Cook, 2017), decision-making thresholds (Platt and Turney, 2014; Turney et al, 2024) and teaching methods (Bertotti, 2016; Whittaker, 2018), contributing to the literature on critical thinking and error prevention in social work (Taylor et al, 2023). Collaboration has resulted in co-authored articles and commentaries (Søbjerg et al, 2020; Sicora et al, 2021; Alfandari et al, 2023a; 2023b; 2024; Turney et al, 2024), books and book chapters (Taylor et al, 2023), and the editing of journal special issues (Whittaker and Taylor, 2017; Taylor and Whittaker, 2018; McCafferty and Taylor, 2020; Alfandari and Killick, forthcoming; Helm et al, forthcoming), shaping evolving processes of practice, policy making, training and research in decision making, assessment and risk (DAR).

2025-01-01T00:00:00Z