Words Matter! Advocating for Traumatic Compassion Dissonance Webinar

Words matter! They are especially important when communicating about a stigmatized profession, such as laboratory animal science. Yet, when we discuss one of the most pressing mental health issues faced by lab animal professionals, we often borrow misleading terms, such as compassion fatigue, that can contribute to public misunderstanding and censure. It is critical that we develop and adopt our own precise terminology to articulate the mental health challenges associated with working with lab animals.

In this session, Lisa M. Kelly, M.Ed., R-LATG, of University of Georgia will explain why the current terminology hampers our efforts to educate the public about our vital, life-saving work. She will propose and advocate for a more accurate term, Traumatic Compassion Dissonance, that better captures the nuances of this phenomenon. By carefully selecting our words, we can begin to humanize this critical concern in our industry.