Working with animals changes you. It can change your nervous system, your worldview, and often your sense of self. Over time, the constant exposure to suffering, loss, and moral conflict adds up. Compassion fatigue isn’t a personal failure—it’s an occupational hazard of caring deeply about animals but working in systems that are often overwhelmed. I get it, because I've been there.

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Coaching sessions with me offer practical, trauma-informed support for animal professionals who want validation, relief, and new coping skills in order to make their passion for helping sustainable. ​These one-on-one sessions are designed specifically for animal people who are struggling with compassion fatigue, secondary traumatic stress, grief, and burnout. 

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What We'll Work On Together

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Every session is individualized, but common themes include:

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• Compassion fatigue and secondary traumatic stress

• Chronic grief, cumulative loss, and moral injury

• Emotional exhaustion and burnout

• Feeling numb, detached, irritable, or constantly on edge

• Developing self-care strategies and stress management skills

• Boundaries (with animals, people, organizations, and causes)

• Identity loss: Who am I if I can’t save them all?

• Reconnecting with purpose without self-sacrifice

• Developing resilience and compassion satisfaction

 

What This Coaching Is (and Is Not)

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Coaching with me is:

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• Trauma-informed and compassion-fatigue specific

• Rooted in real animal welfare experience

• A mix of education, reflection, self-regulation, and strategy

• Focused on sustainability—not pushing harder

• A safe space where your experience is valid, even when the world minimizes it

 

This coaching is not:

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• Psychotherapy or clinical treatment (Although I am a licensed professional counselor, I am only licensed in the state of Michigan. I cannot provide you with a mental health diagnosis or accept insurance while acting as a coach.)

• A crisis service. Sessions are held weekly and crisis support is not available between sessions.

• About “fixing” you (because you are not broken).

 

If you’re already in therapy, coaching can complement that work by focusing on day-to-day functioning, boundaries, meaning, and resilience in animal-centered roles.

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Who Coaching is For: 

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• Animal shelter, sanctuary, and rescue workers

• Veterinary professionals and support staff

• Volunteers and foster caregivers

• Animal control officers and humane investigators

• Wildlife and marine rehabilitators

• Ethical vegans

• Advocates and activists

• Anyone else who loves, cares for, or works with animals but is struggling with compassion fatigue 

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Session Details:

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• Format: Virtual, one-on-one coaching 

• Length: 45 minutes

• Price: $125 per session

• Availability: Limited weekly sessions available. Contact me here or at jen@jenblough.com to learn more. 

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