[ORN] Workforce Multiplier Series: Peer Support for OUD, Stimulant & Polysubstance Use – Compassion Fatigue in Peer Support Work
This training introduces peer workers to compassion fatigue as the “cost of caring” and its impact on workforce wellbeing and service delivery. Participants explore the emotional, physical, and behavioral warning signs of burnout and secondary trauma, while learning to distinguish between stress, avoidance, and burnout cycles. The session emphasizes self-awareness and sustainable self-care practices, including adaptive coping strategies, boundary-setting, and resilience-building tools tailored to peer roles. Participants leave with practical strategies to maintain their own wellbeing while continuing to provide high-quality, empathetic support.
Funding for this initiative was made possible (in part) by grant no. 1H79TI088037 from SAMHSA. The views expressed in written conference materials or publications and by speakers and moderators do not necessarily reflect the official policies of the Department of Health and Human Services; nor does mention of trade names, commercial practices, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.
Owen Dougherty
Owen Dougherty is currently working independently, providing training and technical assistance for organizations developing peer recovery support services as well as leadership development coaching to emerging leaders in these organizations. Prior to April 1, 2019, Owen was the Deputy Executive Director of the Georgia Council on Substance Abuse (GCSA). In this capacity, he oversaw the Certified Addiction Recovery Empowerment Specialist (CARES) Program, a project fostering the development of recovery community organizations across Georgia, a program providing peer recovery support services in the Emergency Departments and Women’s services in a hospital system in Northeast Georgia, and a state-wide Warm-Line for individuals facing challenges with substance use. The Council works closely with the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health, the Georgia Mental Health Consumer Network and the Georgia Parent Support Network.
Owen has worked in ministry as the Associate Director of a Retreat and Conference Center in Citrus Heights, CA, Senior Consultant for Baxter Healthcare in Deerfield, IL, Executive Director at Career Transitions Center in Chicago and a Director at WBKearney Inc. in Alpharetta, GA providing consulting and technical assistance to Child, Youth and School Services of the US Army.