The Learning Scientists Podcast Episode 93: Compassion Fatigue in Educators with Dr Chiara Horlin
Sep 25, 2025
In this discussion, Dr. Chiara Horlin, a Senior Lecturer in Psychology at the University of Glasgow, dives deep into the pressing issue of compassion fatigue among educators. She defines it as the emotional toll from continually empathizing with distressed students. Chiara explores its manifestations across different educational sectors and links it to burnout. The conversation highlights the personal and institutional impacts of compassion fatigue, and she offers practical tips for educators to manage it effectively, stressing the need for organizations to recognize it as an occupational hazard.
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Personal Origin Of The Research
- Dr Chiara Horlin developed interest in compassion fatigue from her own experience after taking a leadership role just before the pandemic.
- She noticed prioritizing student distress over her own health led to marked negative impacts on her mental and physical well-being.
What Compassion Fatigue Actually Is
- Compassion fatigue is the cumulative physical, emotional and psychological strain from repeatedly empathizing with people in distress.
- It resembles secondary traumatic stress and can produce hyperarousal, avoidance, intrusive thoughts and burnout.
How Burnout And Compassion Fatigue Relate
- Burnout can arise from many causes, but compassion fatigue describes burnout specifically tied to repeated empathic labour.
- Thus compassion fatigue is a distinct pathway to professional burnout linked to emotional demands of support roles.