“I applaud your efforts to teach volunteers how to interact with people who are suffering… I did view the video and the program is obviously a labor of love on your part… I am sharing your work with my staff, especially those involved in finding ways for young people to serve their community and fellow citizens.”.

Colin L. Powell, General
U.S. Army (Ret.)
Chairman, America's Promise


“Communicating with Compassion is a quality program. I find it valuable in refining the skills of supportive presence needed by lay volunteer and clergy alike. It is a complete package, educationally sound and stimulating to use. This one is a keeper!”

Rev. Faye Hogan
St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Ventura


“This video is one of the most outstanding training tools for staff and volunteers that I have ever seen. I know I’ll be using it often.”

Pat Wheatley,
Director Senior Services
Goleta Valley Cottage Hospital


“An excellent tool to spark a dialogue on how to communicate in emotionally difficult situations. This video helps us reflect upon our own feelings and deepens our understanding of the importance of relationships in healing.”

Dulcie Sinn,
Advisor for Associated Students
University of California, Santa Barbara

“Communicating with Compassion invites all of us to share in the basics of the human experience — love and hope.”

Reverend Susan Copeland,
Director of Pastoral Care
Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital

“I have been very touched by the compassion and humanity conveyed by your video. Communicating with Compassion is appropriate for anyone who works with schools, churches, health agencies, youth groups or families."

Betty Krause,
President, Ventura County Volunteer Coordinators Council

"Your video touches both the head and the heart. It flows and the teaching points are made so naturally. I cried at several places. Thank you for an effective and beautiful video."

Elizabeth Wu, Management Development
Kaiser Permanente

“This video clearly shows how good listening skills and compassion can perpetuate the flame of hope that is such a necessary part of the healing process.”

Michael B. Fisher, M.D.
Internal Medicine and Nephrology

When I saw Communicating with Compassion it was love at first sight. I use it with new trainees and in monthly in-service meetings. This video is an education for the heart as well as the head."

Timothy Larson,
Coordinator of Volunteers


"Communicating with Compassion is by far the best teaching tool I could use in the area of listening and communication skills. Thank you for your great effort to teach us all that compassion is the key element to a healing encounter."

Dana VanderMey, R.N.
Supervisor of Parish Nursing
Saint Francis Medical Center


"I highly recommend the Communicating with Compassion Video and Leader Guide to anyone training staff or volunteers in a hospital, skilled nursing facility, or home care setting. The video wonderfully demonstrates effective communicating – tone of voice, body language, putting oneself on the person's level – and Karen Fox is a tremendous role model.

I believe the 4 key elements of the program – Attention, Acknowledgment, Affection and Acceptance – are really at the heart of what we are doing as good listeners and caregivers. This program came along when I was in need of some affordable help with teaching communication skills to my volunteers, and I must say that we have been very pleased with not only its professionalism but its gentle, compassionate, and even spiritual approach. It is a real blessing. I highly recommend it!”

Dianne Gillespie, Volunteer Coordinator
Whatcom Hospice, St. Joseph Hospital
Bellingham, WA

“Communicating with Compassion is an excellent tool to inspire and teach communication skills to youth and adults alike. It is a sensitive, professional portrayal that hits all the right nerves. The accompanying leader guide is clear and user friendly. Organizing the video around four key elements of communication is very effective. It is an excellent teaching tool for use with volunteers of all ages.”

William J. Cirone,
Superintendent,
Santa Barbara County Schools

"Teaching compassion is different than teaching how to change the oil in your car, or use a new computer. For this, and other reasons, it has often been discarded from medical training, and is today frequently thought of as a frill, a nice, but unessential element. Yet, thoughout history compassion has been the universal solvent, the key ingredient to true healing".

Simon Fox, Executive Producer
The Medicine of Compassion

How do you teach Compassion?

According to Karen and Simon Fox, the best way to teach compassion is not to teach, but to inspire through real-life examples. Just as Adventures in Caring's volunteers have learned their skills from personal experiences, the camera follows doctors, nurses and care-givers into the world of real situations, real challenges and real emotions.

The video shows how compassion forms a bridge between the two very different worlds: the world of the busy health care professional and the anxious, uncertain world of the patient. When compassion is present patients feel confident about the care they receive and health care staff experience greater satisfaction when working in a partnership with patients.

This package includes:



u 45-minute DVD or VHS-tape.
u 48-page Leader Guide with instructions on how to use the video as the basis for a 60-minute or 90-minute class, or for a 3-hour workshop. To custom-design your own class additional discussion questions, class exercises, and video index are included, plus resources for continued learning and suggestions for measuring progress.
u Handouts - formatted for easy copying. Three pages summarize the essential points of the video and expand upon them.

Participants learn how to:

u Create rapport, listen well, and extend compassion even when busy
u Approach emotionally sensitive situations with confidence.
u Discover a patient's reasons and resources for healing.
u Avoid the pitfalls of inappropriate communication
u Earn the trust, respect and appreciation of those in their care.

Communicating with Compassion is an ideal resource for:


u Hospitals and Medical Centers
u Hospices
u Long-Term Care Facilities
u Clinics and Medical Offices
u Emergency Services
u Professional Associations
u Nursing, Medical &Dental Schools
u Pre-Professional/Undergraduate Courses

About the production of Communicating with Compassion:

The video is the result of 20 years of pioneering work in the human side of health care by Karen and Simon Fox, a team of volunteers & medical advisors - and video producer & composer Bent Myggen of VisionEars.com. Together they have created a DVD training program that illustrate the personal, subjective, emotional dimension of healing.

Several unusual filming and editing techniques were utilized in The Medicine of Compassion. (and all productions)

u When filming on location no script or direction of subjects were used.
u All interviews were also unscripted
u Since Bent and Simon were asking questions from the camera our interviewees are looking directly into the lens, giving the viewer a much more personal impression than in a typical two-camera interview-setup.
u Finally, the editing and musical scoring is created simultaniously. This achieves a strong emotional flow for the whole production and sets the stage for the viewer's personal experience.

 

“I can think of no better resource for congregations than Compassion in Action. Important information, real people, great wisdom, warm hearts - those in caregiving ministries will be empowered to connect with even the most wounded people with understanding and love".

PETER S. BUEHLER, Pastor
First Presbyterian Church of Santa Barbara


"The Lakota elders spoke of things being '...in a good way.' Compassion in Action, calls to the hearts of those of us who serve to keep true to such a path. When science and compassion marry, humanity moves toward the high calling God breathed into us at our birth. Your work encourages me that this may be so. Thank you."

FR. JON-STEPHEN HEDGES, St. Athanasius Orthodox Church
Board Certified Crisis Chaplain
& Trauma Responder


"I love this video! It's a wonderful, candid example of compassion at work in a variety of health care settings. It shows the humanity and joy we can find - even in the tougher situations - if we approach them in the right way."

ABBEY GASKE, M.D.
Urology Group of Southern California


“Compassion in Action is a beautiful, practical demonstration of how to infuse difficult conversations with love.”

CANDACE PERT, PH.D.
Neuroscience Research;
Author of Molecules of Emotion

"Compassion in Action is for all of us who long to know 'what to say' or 'what to do' when a loved one is suffering. It is an antidote for the sense of alienation and isolation we feel at life's toughest times - whether we are the caregiver or the care receiver".

THE REV. ANNE S. HOWARD
Executive Director,
The Beatitudes Society

"An opportunity to see what a profound difference human caring makes in the lives of others! Real life situations show how to engage with others in a way that cares for their spirit, their emotions, their humanness. I will be using it as a teaching tool for professional and volunteer caregivers".

PEGGY MATTESON, PHD, RN, FCN
Commissioned Minister of Health, United Congregational Church
Chair, Department of Nursing, Salve Regina University, Newport, RI.



“An excellent tool to spark a dialogue on how to communicate in emotionally difficult situations. This video helps us reflect upon our own feelings and deepens our understanding of the importance of relationships in healing.”

Dulcie Sinn,
Advisor for Associated Students
University of California, Santa Barbara

"Compassion comes naturally when people are suffering. But what about when those people are upset or difficult to be with? Is it possible or practical to extend compassion when the going gets tough?

Compassion in Action shows the art of communicating with patients when difficult emotions arise. Using real-life footage from authentic situations, the video gives a fresh look at an age old problem: How to keep caring when patients are difficult. Viewers learn new approaches and gain confidence, encouragement and motivation for being effective in difficult interactions"

Simon Fox, Executive Producer
The Medicine of Compassion

This package includes:

A 43-minute DVD with 12 chapters, each illustrating different communication challenges in caregiving. Plus an optional introduction from the Executive Producer to give your audience a powerful context for your session.

A 128-page Leader Guide shows how to use the video as a starting point for a discussion or seminar. It includes a proven Five-Step Training Program to cultivate compassion using group dialogue, group exercises, individual practice and self-evaluation. Also included are seven discussions, a video time index, and elements to custom-design your own seminars with suggestions for a single one-hour class, a 2-4 hour seminar, or a series of seminars.

Handouts formatted for easy copying. Five pages summarize the essential points of the video and expand upon them for in-depth discussion and training.
Access to website resources for continued learning, updates and new materials such as: additional handouts, visual aids, key links, discussion groups, and recommended reading.

Audiences see:
Authentic examples of how experienced caregivers respond to patients who are:

• Uncooperative • Afraid of losing their autonomy • Confused • Grieving
• Having unrealistic expectations • Forgetful • Unable to speak • Argumentative
• Frustrated • Angry • Feeling sorry for themselves • In a coma • Dying Young

Benefits / Skills that directly relate to improvements in:

Caregivers build skills that engage people in their own healing process, heighten caregiver morale, and produce healthier outcomes.

Experts such as Drs. Larry Dossey and Patch Adams comment on real life scenes.

Plug & play: Compassion in Action is a ready-made seminar, complete with handouts, discussions, exercises, and easily customized sessions.

Anyone can learn because all the training materials are experiential and practice-based, within a proven Five-Step Training Program.

Team-building is improved as participants begin to teach through their own examples and experience.
Those who need care experience compassion.

Uses:

Compassion in Action appeals to a wide range of audiences, especially those who interact with ill, injured or disabled people. It will help more experienced caregivers remember why they chose to serve. At the same time, the film shows good examples for new caregivers to learn from. Group leaders, mentors and instructors can use the film to make compassion visible to their teams. Compassion in Action is a great starting point for stimulating discussions and trainings. It puts the topic of compassion on the table in a non-threatening, highly inspiring way.

Compassion in Action is an ideal resource for:

• Hospices • Hospital Auxiliaries • Church and Temple Caregiving Ministries
• Seminaries • Family Caregivers • Voluntary Health Organizations
• Interfaith Volunteer Caregiver Programs • Service Clubs

About the production of Compassion in Action:

The video is the result of 20 years of pioneering work in the human side of health care by Karen and Simon Fox, a team of volunteers & medical advisors - and video producer & composer Bent Myggen of VisionEars.com. Together they have created a DVD training program that illustrate the personal, subjective, emotional dimension of healing.

Several unusual filming and editing techniques were utilized in The Medicine of Compassion. (and all productions)

u When filming on location no script or direction of subjects were used.
u All interviews were also unscripted
u Since Bent and Simon were asking questions from the camera our interviewees are looking directly into the lens, giving the viewer a much more personal impression than in a typical two-camera interview-setup.
u Finally, the editing and musical scoring is created simultaniously. This achieves a strong emotional flow for the whole production and sets the stage for the viewer's personal experience.

 

Also available from Adventures in Caring:

Communicating with Compassion: How to Communicate in Ways that Ease the Pain and Lift the Spirit. A best-selling 40-minute video shows volunteers and lay caregivers how to approach emotionally sensitive situations with confidence. (More info)

What Can I Say? A Guide to Visiting Friends and Family Who are Ill. A 94-page book, now in its 3rd edition, helps you find the right words and actions to bring comfort to those who are suffering and avoid the most common mistakes made when visiting the sick. (More info)

The Medicine of Compassion: Core Skills for the Human Side of Health Care. An award-winning 45-minute video shows four core skills that create rapport, improve listening and extend compassion to patients. Candid scenes show how busy healthcare professionals build bridges from their world to the world of their patients. (More info)