Understanding and addressing the realities of compassion fatigue in clinical practice and its impact on clinical outcomes

Interview with Elizabeth Irias, LMFT

  • Course Description

    Therapists are trained to utilize compassion and empathy in order for therapy to be effective, and they are particularly vulnerable to experiencing high levels of emotional stress; compassion fatigue can be a precursor or symptom of other stressors. For therapists and others in the helping professionals, compassion fatigue can have ethical implications if left untreated, especially if they are providing therapeutic services that are no longer benefitting those under their care. This course discusses the phenomenon of compassion fatigue and provides guidance about how to self-assess one’s own level of compassion fatigue, as well as offers guidance about how to address and manage it moving forward.

  • Learning Objectives

    Upon completing this course, participants will be able to: Describe three or more warning signs and symptoms of Compassion Fatigue; Compare and contrast Compassion Fatigue and Burnout; Describe the potential impact of therapeutic compassion fatigue on clinical outcomes


    Target Audience and Instructional Level
    This course is intended for psychologists, therapists, social workers, clinical counselors, and addiction counselors. Instructional level: Intermediate

  • How To Take This Course

    In order to receive a certificate of completion reflecting the associated CE credit hour, you must:
    #1: Have an active paid Clearly Clinical membership
    #2: Listen to the corresponding course podcast
    #3: Achieve a passing grade on the post-presentation test (the test has up to ten questions and you must earn a score of at least 80%; users can re-test up to three times. After three attempts, users are advised to re-listen to the audio course in its entirety and then subsequently re-test. Psychologists who are seeking CE credit may not be awarded credit if they attempt to pass the post-test more than three times.)
    #4: Complete the requested course evaluation.

    Course elements (including the course audio, post-test, and requested course evaluation) can be completed on a computer or mobile device via your Clearly Clinical account.

  • Course Format

    This high-quality and interesting course contains a one-hour, non-interactive audio podcast presentation which is available for free via all major public podcast providers. You can also listen to and download the file via our course player.

  • Commercial Support

    There is no known commercial support or conflict of interest for this CE program, presenter, sponsor, instructor, or content. The instructor, Dr. Dain Kloner, mentions his website/training as potential resources to learn more about this topic.

  • Certificate Access Details

    Once you've completed the course, your certificate will automatically populate in the 'Certificate' section of your account; it will also be emailed to you. Access to completion certificate will expire 365 days after issuance. Course certificates will be on file for ten (10) years from date of course completion.

  • Accommodations

    If you have special needs or need an accommodation, please email us at [email protected] and we will do our best to assist you.

Interviewer and Interviewee

Dain Kloner, PsyD, LMFT

Compassion Fatigue Expert

Dain Kloner, PsyD, LMFT, is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (#100681), dedicated to overall wellness and ways for individuals, couples, and families to find and maintain balance in their lives. Dr. Kloner has a full-time private practice and teaches as an Adjunct Professor at Pepperdine University. Dr. Kloner’s work and experience with a variety of populations, including at-risk youth, teens, adolescents, and the indigent population led him to create a program to help caregivers, especially Marriage & Family Therapists and Social Workers, in finding balance. Dr. Kloner provides workshops for helping professionals and shares research from his doctoral work titled, “To Be Our Best Self: A Training Program to Address Compassion Fatigue and Burnout in the Helping Professions.” Please visit Dr.Kloner at DainKloner.com.

Elizabeth 'Beth' Irias, MS, LMFT

Interviewer & Clearly Clinical Founder

Elizabeth 'Beth' Irias (she/her) is a licensed Marriage & Family Therapist and the Founder and President of Clearly Clinical. She has specializations in Clinical Documentation, Best Practice, and Utilization Review, and works closely with clinical teams across the US as a trainer and national conference presenter; Beth was formerly an adjunct professor at Pepperdine University in the Graduate Psychology and Education department. Licensed in California and Oregon, she provides therapy via her private practice to young adult and adult clients, members of the LGBTQ population, and those with addictive disorders. She has two young children, a super cool spouse who helps out with Clearly Clinical's tech, and a rescue dog.

See why we're the country's premier CE provider

  • CONVENIENT: All courses are 1-hour podcast episodes, available on all public podcast platforms

  • AFFORDABLE: We offer quality CE courses through a reasonably-priced memership

  • SOCIALLY-RESPONSIBLE: We donate to The Trevor Project for LGBTQIA+ youth suicide prevention

  • WOMEN-OWNED: We are founded and run by Elizabeth Irias, LMFT

  • DIVERSE: We highlight expert presenters from historically-marginalized communities

Check Out Our Growing Course Library

View all courses


Quick Note: Are you confused about the difference between a Continuing Education Unit (CEU) and a Continuing Education (CE) Credit Hour?  You're not the only one! Visit our Frequently Asked Questions page for clarification!