Why bring self-compassion to your workplace?
Are you or your teams feeling stressed, impatient, and depleted?
Most organizations have been dealing with turnover, the need to pivot in short periods of time, and adapting to the continually changing expectations and conditions for work, virtually and otherwise.
Many leaders are sharing that their teams are tired and worn out, and could use practical strategies to take better care of themselves, particularly in the midst of difficulty.
Self-compassion can help by offering:
- Portable, empirically-supported skills to manage stress. These “on-the-spot” skills can be used whenever you need them most (in a meeting, with a client, at home…)
- Practical ways to prioritize well-being, especially in the midst of difficulty
- Exercises to deepen self-awareness, understanding, and soften self-criticism
- Team building, as teams learn and apply compassion-focused skills to common challenges and discuss insights
- Shared language and experiences to enhance workplace culture.
We are here to help teams feel more empowered in their approach to their day-to-day demands, to foster a greater sense of authentic connection, and to build a more genuine culture of compassion.
* No prior mindfulness or self-compassion experience is needed.
What results are you looking for?
We offer tools and practical strategies to:
- Manage stress in difficult moments
- Soften self-criticism and explore motivation with less fear of failure
- Manage burnout and fatigue
- Do difficult work in a more sustainable way
- Take skillful time and space to reflect and restore energy
- Expand upon existing self-care strategies
What’s your solution?
We will work with you to custom design an experience that meets your needs. You are welcome to use our modules or work with us to co-create / adapt new modules.
Workshop length: Can range from 3 hours to 1.5 days
Format: In-person or virtual
We offer content and experiences on themes such as:
- Empirically-supported tools and practices for stressful moments
- Managing burnout and fatigue
- Team building and compassionate listening
- Accountability and compassionate motivation
Workshop activities typically include:
- A brief overview of relevant theory and research
- Empirically-supported exercises
- Self-reflection
- Small and full-group discussions
- Team-building to surface insights, themes, and ways of supporting each other
- Mindful movement and poetry (optional)
Sample workshop agendas
Example 3-Hour Workshop with one module
Title: Meeting Stress with Kindness
- Learn the three components of self-compassion
- Explore research on compassion, physiology and how compassion can be helpful in the midst of stress
- Experience self-compassion practices for moments of stress
- Upgrade your tool-kit for self-care
- Team-building to surface insights, themes, and ways of supporting each other
Example 1.5 Day Workshop with four modules
Title: Self-Compassion and Sustainable Work
Meeting Stress with Kindness (Module 1)
- Learn the three components of self-compassion
- Explore research on compassion, physiology and how compassion can be helpful in the midst of stress
- Experience self-compassion practices for moments of stress
- Upgrade your tool-kit for self-care
- Team-building to surface insights, themes, and ways of supporting each other
Managing Burnout and Fatigue (Module 2)
- Recognize signs of burnout, and how self-compassion can help to alleviate it
- Explore research on empathy and compassion, and how compassion can help to sustain energy / prevent burnout
- Engage in a practice to do difficult work in a more sustainable way
- Team-building to surface insights, themes, and ways of supporting each other
Team Building and Compassionate Listening (Module 3)
- Discussion on habitual patterns and norms for communication, including challenges that disrupt connection
- Explore strategies for embodied listening with a focus on staying in connection with self and others.
- Engage in a small-group exercise focused on building authentic connection and common humanity
Accountability and Compassionate Motivation (Module 4)
- Discuss the function of self-criticism and its impact
- Explore a practice to get to know and better understand your inner critic and its motivations
- Consider how to make changes – with accountability and responsibility – but with a kinder approach
- Team-building to surface insights, themes, and ways of supporting each other
Who should participate?
We work with companies and organizations who:
- Invest in their employee’s well-being, growth, and development.
- Believe that self-awareness and strategic stress management are essential ingredients for thriving careers and collaborative teams.
- Engage in heart-centered and compassionate leadership. We appreciate this Inc magazine article on attributes of heart-centered leaders.
Who are we?
Heather Shaughnessy-Cato
Heather Shaughnessy-Cato is a self-compassion, mind-body, and well-being teacher, facilitator, and coach. She enjoys working with organizations, teams and individuals to navigate life’s stressors with more curiosity, compassion, and ease.
Heather formerly worked in leadership roles in development for non-profits and in higher education, and as a therapist at a college counseling service.
Heather has a MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from UNC Charlotte, and is a Certified Mindful Self-Compassion Teacher, Certified Wellness and Health Coach, Certified Yoga Teacher, Certified Designing Your Life Facilitator and Coach, with a certificate in Mindfulness from the Nalanda Institute.
Emily Rubin
Emily Rubin has a background in teaching mind-body health and has been in private practice and facilitating groups for the past 15 years.
She is a Certified Mindful Self-Compassion Teacher, a Certified Daring Way™ Facilitator in the work of Brené Brown and an AmSAT Alexander Technique Teacher with further trauma resolution training in Somatic Experiencing® and Internal Family Systems.
Emily aims to create a safe and inclusive environment and to empower people to optimize the application of self-compassion into their lives. She has taught workshops at The University of Michigan, NYU Tish, NYU Gallatin, Hilton Worldwide, Shift Wellness, and The Juilliard School.
How do I learn more?
Send us a note and we will schedule a time to discuss the possibility of working together with you.