By Beth Gaetz, Ministry Coordinator at Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Catholic Church, Bloomington, Minnesota
Out of the blue this past spring, I received an email from my long-time friend, Jim Otremba, who holds a master of divinity and is also a licensed independent clinical social worker and Christian life coach. He wanted to talk with me about a ministry-related idea. When we spoke a few days later, he wondered if I might be interested in participating in a group coaching program for lay pastoral ministers, which would offer tools and support to heal compassion fatigue and burnout. My interest was piqued by words and concepts like “CCM” (Catholic Clinical Meditation), “secondary trauma,” and “research-based tools.” That interest turned into real excitement when he said it would be offered virtually and free of charge to participants, thanks to Bridge Builders for a Thriving Mission. Not quite realizing just how fatigued and burnt out I was by my work and personal life, I eagerly said, “Sign me up!” and invited other colleagues to consider joining as well. And that is how I came to participate with seven others in “Naming and Taming Ministry Stress and Compassion Fatigue,” a life-enhancing, five-session group coaching experience that took place over ten weeks this past summer.
Before the first session, Jim asked us to complete three self-assessments (PRoQOL, PHQ-9, and GAD-7) to gauge our current levels of ministry-related “compassion satisfaction,” burnout, “secondary traumatization,” depression, and anxiety and to report them anonymously to him. During the first session, Jim masterfully set the context for the course through prayer and Scripture, including the model of Jesus’s life as one that included periods of intense ministry followed by rest, solitude, and intense prayer. He fostered a sense of community and mutual support among the group through introductions and the sharing of hoped-for outcomes. Jim then plunged into the material, defining compassion fatigue and burnout, offering for our consideration the many small habits we engage in that either increase or decrease our negative stress, fatigue, and overwhelm (e.g., “time-i-cides”: time-killers that lead to poorer health, such as unproductive screen time), and asking us to commit to reinvesting that time into developing new, healing habits over the course of the program. He encouraged us to observe whether our internal self-talk is “garbage-based” or “Gospel-based” and to identify three “scriptural-based truths” about who we are in Christ. He challenged us to tell ourselves these Gospel-based truths multiple times every day. Finally, he exhorted us to acknowledge and get professional help to heal any major unhealed psychological wounds. Continuing on, he presented research on the relationship between brain function, gut health, and diet and the role that several subsystems of the autonomic nervous system play in negative stress and fatigue. He offered a number of research-backed dietary changes that have been proven to calm our nervous systems, as well as the relatively simple practices of Intentional Catholic Breathing (ICB) and Catholic Clinical Meditation (CCM), which we then practiced together during that session and in each successive class. An enormous amount of valuable information was presented to us that day, and our homework assignment was to schedule time in our calendar to begin to practice ICB, CCM, gospel-based self-talk; to evaluate our eating, exercise, and time-wasting habits; and to commit to making changes.
Whew! While the amount of information Jim presented to us in the first class was almost overwhelming, I recognized how foundational these practices would be for a more peaceful and productive life. In those next two weeks, I worked to check my self-talk and referred to my notes for the three scriptural-based truths I had come up with during the first class (I am good enough; I am precious in God’s sight; I am forgiven), and I incorporated them into my day. When I was tempted to eat something unhealthy or to ease my stress by snacking at night, I borrowed one of the statements Jim uses to help himself make good choices: “In Christ, I am disciplined.” I found I was able to withstand the temptation and make the choice to care for my body, this “temple of the Holy Spirit.” While I struggled to do it for as long as recommended every day, I gave myself some quiet moments most days to meditate on a phrase like “Jesus, I trust in you” or “The Lord is my rock and my shield” (part of CCM), often to the rhythm of breathing in for six counts and out for six counts (ICB). I felt the benefits almost immediately. I found myself paying closer attention to my body’s stress or distress signals throughout my day at work and with my family at home, realizing that the choice to stay in negative stress or to move toward more peace and integration was to be made at that very moment. How liberating to recognize the power of the moment! I also worked to get more exercise and sleep, to pray the Psalms more intentionally each day, and to spend some moments each day in gratitude. I began to feel better and more hopeful!
At the start of each subsequent class, Jim asked us to check in with the group by naming a “resurrection” we’d experienced since our last meeting, what we’d been working on, and any areas of struggle. We celebrated each other’s progress and offered support and empathy in the struggles. I felt supported and encouraged after each class and eagerly anticipated the next one.
In subsequent sessions, Jim presented helpful strategies to deal with secondary traumatization, which can take place when we listen to the pain and trauma of others, to embrace and live the power of the present moment, to prioritize and improve our sleep hygiene, and to call on at least three saints to pray daily for us and our intentions. At the start of each class, he checked in to see how we were doing with the breathing and CCM, and we practiced CCM during each session. During our last meeting, we retook the PRoQOL, PHQ-9, and GAD-7 self-assessments to measure whether our levels of compassion fatigue, burnout, secondary traumatization, depression, and anxiety were higher, lower, or had stayed the same. My measurements confirmed my sense of it: my levels in all areas had decreased, thanks to Jesus and the work of his minister, Jim!
I’m grateful for having participated in this group coaching opportunity because the information offered is so fundamental to overall health and is effective—when practiced! I am also sincerely thankful for the opportunity to reflect on this experience, as it’s showing me how I have slipped out of some of these healthful practices in the transition between summer and a new school/program year. It is prompting me to commit to at least some of these practices once again. What is at stake for ourselves and the world when we do not fight compassion fatigue and negative stress is eloquently expressed by Jim in his course materials:
We need to bathe ourselves in the freeing truth of God to build resiliency and fight compassion fatigue and negative stress. Remember that Satan, our past wounds, and our past mistakes do not want us to love ourselves and become healthier! They want only to destroy and pull us down—thereby causing a negative ripple effect in the Body of Christ. But these negative realities have been crushed by the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, and his ascension and sending of his Holy Spirit (don’t forget about the Holy Spirit!).
We need to daily say yes to this divine victory.
Amen to that, Jim. Let us take on this battle for better physical, emotional, and mental health, strengthened by Christ, so that we can be more effective ministers, friends, spouses, parents, and citizens.
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