Abstract Background : Animal shelter and rescue workers and volunteers frequently experience compassion fatigue, burnout, and moral stress due to ongoing exposure to animal suffering, neglect, and euthanasia. Despite their essential contributions to public health and animal welfare, their mental health needs are often overlooked. This study addresses the gap in research and intervention by evaluating the impact of a structured, virtual support group tailored to this population. Method : A mixed-methods design was used to assess the effectiveness of a 10-week, 90-minute weekly virtual support group facilitated by licensed mental health clinicians and a certified professional coach. Participants (N = 18) from nine US states and one international location completed pre- and post-intervention assessments using validated instruments: the Adult Attitude to Grief Scale (AAG), Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10), Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC-25), Professional Quality of Life Scale (ProQOL), and Mental Health Inventory-5 (MHI-5). Wilcoxon Signed Rank tests were used to evaluate changes over time. Qualitative data were also collected through open-ended questions and thematically analyzed. Results : Quantitative analysis revealed statistically significant improvements in grief vulnerability (AAG), perceived stress (PSS-10), burnout and secondary traumatic stress (ProQOL subscales), and overall mental health (MHI-5). Increases in compassion satisfaction and resilience were observed but did not reach significance. Qualitative findings supported these results, highlighting themes such as increased peer connection, increased connection to purpose, enhanced empathy, validation of grief, improved self-care strategies, and a reduction in emotional isolation. Conclusion : The virtual support group demonstrated measurable benefits in reducing psychological distress among animal welfare workers and volunteers. Participants found the group format valuable and all indicated they would recommend it to peers. This model offers a scalable, low-cost, and accessible intervention for addressing unmet mental health needs in this high-risk, under-resourced population. Future research should explore longitudinal effects, a control group model, expand demographic diversity and sample size, and further examine the role of empathy in animal welfare burnout.
Trevathan-Minnis et al. (Fri,) studied this question.