This course is primarily about vicarious trauma. What it is and how to avoid it. But we will also look at burnout in order to establish how they differ from each other. In doing so we will look at the concept of compassion fatigue following the ideas of Gabor Mate, that there is in fact no such thing, but rather the person experiencing these ‘symptoms’ has actually lost touch with themselves precisely because they have become too caught up in the world of others. The experiential part of this course is very much intended to help people to reconnect with themselves through meditation, self-compassion and the exploration of the five levels of self-care as proposed by Babette Rothschild (Physical,mental,emotional,spiritual and aesthetic). We will also look in depth at empathy and how it can be both a benefit and an enemy of good practice. In particular we will explore ways to control and focus empathy using techniques developed by Babette Rothschild. Finally in order to improve understanding and self-awareness we will look at the concepts of projective identification and counter transference, which are crucial to understanding where vicarious trauma might originate. It is hoped by the end of the course that participants will have a greater understanding of this topic and a real confidence that they can address these issues for themselves. This will in turn help them to offer more effective and compassionate care to their clients.