This nine-week, small-group experience is designed exclusively for people who work or volunteer in animal care, animal welfare, and activism. If you’ve been feeling overwhelmed, exhausted, or stretched past your emotional limits, you are not alone — and you deserve support designed specifically for the realities of this work.

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Each week, we come together for a guided session that blends:

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• brief, practical teaching

• experiential activities

• reflective exercises

• gentle, structured group sharing

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The result is a supportive, skill-building space where you can learn, connect, breathe, and begin to feel like yourself again.

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What You’ll Gain

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Through expert facilitation and meaningful group connection, you can:

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• Understand the impact of trauma exposure, chronic stress, and grief on your nervous system and emotional health

• Learn to set healthy, sustainable boundaries

• Build stress-management and self-care practices that actually fit the realities of animal welfare work

• Reconnect with your purpose without burning out

• Develop practical coping strategies you can use immediately

• Feel validated and understood by others who face similar challenges

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Whether you’re a shelter worker or volunteer, veterinary professional, ACO or cruelty investigator, wildlife or marine conservationist, animal rights activist, or any other type of animal advocate — this circle was created with you in mind.

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Compassion fatigue is real. But you don’t have to navigate it alone.

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How a Skills & Support Circle Differs from Therapy

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Many people wonder about the difference between a facilitated support circle and therapy. Here’s how this format works:

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This circle is a good fit if you:

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• Want affordable, high-value support

• Want concrete tools for managing compassion fatigue, burnout, and secondary traumatic stress

• Prefer structured sessions with clear themes, activities, and practical strategies

• Enjoy learning alongside others who understand the emotional realities of animal welfare work

• Do not need clinical mental health treatment, or are already in therapy and looking for additional support

• Want guidance focused on moving forward, not processing trauma in depth

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This circle is not:

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• therapy

• a place to diagnose or treat mental health conditions

• a space for intensive trauma processing

• covered by insurance

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Although the facilitator is a licensed professional counselor, she is acting in the role of a coach, educator, and guide — not as a therapist.

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Now Enrolling: Winter 2026 Cohort

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Nine weeks. Up to six people. One restorative, powerful experience.

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Live sessions:​

Sundays • January 4 – March 15, 2026
2:30–3:30 PM EST
(Every fourth Sunday off)

All sessions are recorded so you can revisit them anytime.

Enrollment is limited to six participants to maintain a safe, supportive, and intimate environment.

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Winter 2026 Session Schedule

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• Jan 4: Self-Compassion, Goals, and Intentions

• Jan 11: Understanding Compassion Fatigue

• Jan 18: The Compassion Fatigue Cycle

• Feb 1: Secondary Traumatic Stress

• Feb 8: Burnout

• Feb 15: Boundaries

• March 1: Self-Care

• March 8: Pain vs. Suffering

• March 15: The Road to Recovery

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A Note to Organizations

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To maintain emotional safety and encourage open reflection, we recommend no more than one staff member from the same organization participate in a single cohort. Having multiple colleagues in one group can unintentionally limit vulnerability. We encourage organizations to stagger participation across different rounds for the best experience.

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