The Compassionate Community

This manual is designed to shift the mentality of those who work in care and nursing homes in order to emphasise a more compassionate way of caring for both the residents of the home and the staff who work there. This involves first learning to develop a sense of self-compassion, and then allowing this to permeate to all aspects of the home. Part of the training contained is designed for managers, to alter their approach to their work and their teams, to make them more compassionate 'bosses', more self-compassionate and more able to build a lasting culture of care that will remain when they have moved into a different role elsewhere. The second part of the training is designed to be run with staff members, to enhance their compassion and the quality of the care they provide. It is therefore both a 'self-help' manual in one sense, and a training guide for staff development.