About Our Founder
Patricia Smith is the Founder of the Compassion Fatigue Awareness Project© and Healthy Caregiving, LLC.
As a certified Compassion Fatigue Specialist with more than 20 years of training experience, she writes, speaks and facilitates workshops in service of those who care for others in all caregiving professions.
With a background in journalism, Patricia's writing has appeared in numerous publications, including the San Jose Mercury News where she was a freelance journalist for more than 20 years. Currently, she is the Caregiving Expert for Spry Living, reaching millions of readers every month.
As training and development manager for the Humane Society Silicon Valley, she created and implemented a critical shelter-wide compassion fatigue project. Her work in this field led to presenting workshops nationwide as a consultant for American Humane, a national organization advocating children and animal rights.
Patricia has authored two training manuals, a presenter's guide, and a student workbook:
Healthy Caregiving: A Guide to Recognizing and Managing Compassion Fatigue: Student Guide Level 1
Her seminal book, To Weep for a Stranger: Compassion Fatigue in Caregiving, is a comprehensive look at compassion fatigue, its causes and symptoms, and how to begin the healing process.
Her newest book, Compassion Satisfaction: 50 Steps To Healthy Caregiving, guides readers through 50 steps towards authentic, sustainable self-care and compassion satisfaction.
Patricia is the recipient of the “Excellence in Writing Award,” presented by the National League of American Pen Women. Under her direction, Ronald McDonald House at Stanford received the 2005 “Best Bets” award for its “Healing Arts” program. She was awarded the 2006 Telly Award for her script “Invaders of the National Parks,” a documentary on invasive species created for the National Parks Service.
Recent compassion fatigue workshops include:
BayCare Health System, Clearwater, FL
University of California, San Francisco
Alzheimer Memory Center, Fresno, CA
U of Tennessee, Department of Veterinary Social Work, Knoxville, TN
Daughters of Charity Health System, Los Altos Hills, CA.
Past clients include:
University of California, Santa Cruz, CA
O’Connor Hospital, San Jose, CA
Indianapolis Animal Shelter, Indianapolis, IN
Veterinarian Oncologists, San Jose, CA
Ronald McDonald House at Stanford, Palo Alto, CA
Hospice Caring Project, Santa Cruz, CA.
The CFAP Newsroom features articles and interviews written by Founder Patricia Smith or reference CFAP's ongoing mission to raise awareness and promote authentic, sustainable self care...
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With more than 20 years of training experience, CFAP Founder Patricia Smith writes, speaks and facilitates workshops in service of those who care for others.
If you're interested in having Patricia address your organization or group, click here!
For every $1,000 we receive in donations, we are donating 50 sets of Patricia Smith's books to organizations across the nation that are in need of this vital first step toward authentic, sustainable self-care.
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CFAP Founder Patricia Smith's newest book guides readers through 50 steps to Compassion Satisfaction.
Pick up a copy here!