Make 2024 the year you care for yourself the same way you care for grieving families.

Funeral service is a high-touch, high-stress career that, unfortunately, comes with a high-degree of compassion fatigue and burnout. It may not be easy to admit just how much your job affects you. You are trained to be the strong, silent figure who offers unwavering support to families. 

NFDA deeply cares about you and your well-being. We are committed to supporting you so that you can be at your best, whether you’re serving grieving families or spending time with your own family and friends. Asking for help might not always be easy, but you matter to us … and that is why we have invested in resources to support your emotional well-being.

SupportLinc

NFDA has partnered with SupportLinc to offer a member assistance program. This confidential support service is available 24/7, 365 days per year at no charge to NFDA members and their immediate family members (e.g., spouse, children) and includes:  

• In-the-moment support and short-term counseling by phone, web, text or mobile app with a licensed clinician Members and their immediate family can also receive up to three in-person or video counseling sessions each year.
• Digital support group sessions hosted by licensed counselors 
• Legal consultation 
• Referrals for a variety of service providers (e.g., child or elder care, adoption, pet care, home repair, education, and housing needs)
• Financial consultation and planning 
• A website and app full of resources 
• And more

Learn more at www.nfda.org/SupportLinc. 

Take 5 

In just five minutes you can discover information, practices, and quick activities designed to help you identify and address the stress in your life as a funeral service professional. 

Available online 24/7, Take 5 is a series of short activities designed to give you – regardless of membership status – information and practices to better care for yourself. The interactive series features short videos, quizzes, self-assessments and self-care tips and is based on the Funeral Service Foundation’s “Caring for Families & Caring for Yourself: A self-care handbook for funeral service professionals,” written by Dr. Alan Wolfelt.

As you work through the Take 5 series, you will learn to: 

• Identify their sources of stress that personally impact you on the job and at home and gauge your level of burnout. 
• Recognize symptoms of burnout and common, often unhealthy, coping mechanisms.
• Use strategies for minimizing the impact of stress on the job and tips to develop a personal plan for self care.  
• Be proactive and prioritize your self-care in small, manageable steps.
• Understand the wide range of free resources available to help you further explore self-care and mental health with articles, screenings and toolkits. 

Visit www.nfda.org/Take5 and take a few minutes for yourself!

Self-care Handbook

In 2020, the Funeral Service Foundation, which is NFDA’s charitable arm, created “Caring for Families & Caring for Yourself,” a handbook to help you maintain a healthy work/life balance and prevent burnout. While this booklet may have been funded through the Foundation’s COVID-19 Crisis Response Fund, the skills it teaches apply, even though you may not be facing the intense stress of the pandemic. 

The Foundation commissioned Dr. Alan Wolfelt to write the handbook, which features tips, guidance, quizzes, and journaling prompts that use proven methods to help you recognize the sources of stress and manage them. This booklet, along with a “Self Care Manifesto” poster, ideal for displaying in break rooms or common spaces in the funeral home, are available at no charge to any funeral professional.

Visit FuneralServiceFoundation.org to learn more about these resources and to request your free printed copies.