Compassionate Care for the Self and Those We Care For

VIHASA Values in Healthcare Series | Cape Town | 1 August 2026

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On 1 August 2026, VIHASA hosted another inspiring session in its Values in Healthcare Series, bringing together professionals from different fields to explore an essential question in caring professions:

How do we care compassionately for others without becoming depleted ourselves?

Held at 1st Scout Hall, 30 Hof Street, Tableview, Cape Town, the three-hour session focused on “Compassionate Care for the Self and Those We Care For.”

The event was open to all professionals and provided a welcoming space for reflection, conversation and shared learning.

Compassion and Competence in Care

Competence and compassion are both important aspects of good care. Yet the work we do can leave us physically, psychologically and spiritually exhausted.

Professionals are often expected to remain compassionate and supportive, even while being repeatedly exposed to crisis, distress and difficult circumstances in the lives of those they serve. Over time, this cumulative exposure can take a toll on our own wellbeing and contribute to burnout.

The VIHASA session created an opportunity to pause and explore this reality.

Rather than viewing compassion simply as something we offer to others, participants were invited to consider compassion for themselves as an equally important part of sustainable care.

Exploring Compassion

The session explored what compassion means — both for ourselves and for the people we care for.

Participants considered some of the barriers that can prevent us from expressing compassion, as well as ways of remaining compassionate without becoming emotionally and physically depleted.

The emphasis was on developing greater awareness and discovering tools that can support professionals to continue caring while also protecting their own wellbeing.

An Inspiring Conversation

The session brought together three speakers with experience across different areas of healthcare:

• Dr Raksha Balbadhur – Palliative Medicine Physician

• Therusha Padayachee – Groote Schuur Hospital

• Dr Jaisubash Jayakumar – University of Cape Town

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Together, they contributed to an inspiring conversation around compassion in healthcare and the importance of caring for ourselves as we care for others.

The diversity of professional perspectives helped create a rich and meaningful discussion, reflecting the many different environments in which professionals provide care and support.

Learning Together

The event was intentionally interactive, allowing participants to reflect on their own experiences and engage with one another.

The photographs from the session capture this spirit of shared learning — participants gathered in a circle, listening, reflecting and contributing to the conversation.

The setting itself provided an informal and welcoming environment in which professionals could step away from their usual roles and pressures and simply take time to reflect.

The Importance of Self-Compassion

One of the central messages of the session was that compassionate care cannot be sustained when the caregiver is continually depleted.

Caring for ourselves is not separate from caring for others. Developing greater awareness of our own needs, emotions and wellbeing can help us remain present and compassionate in our professional and personal relationships.

The session encouraged participants to consider practical ways of nurturing compassion without allowing the demands of caring work to overwhelm their own wellbeing.

A Community of Care

The gathering also demonstrated the value of bringing professionals together to learn from one another.

As participants shared experiences and reflections, the session became more than a presentation. It became a space for connection, understanding and mutual support.

This is at the heart of the VIHASA Values in Healthcare approach — creating opportunities for professionals to reconnect with the human qualities that brought them into their work, while developing ways to sustain themselves along the journey.

Continuing the VIHASA Values in Healthcare Series

The Cape Town session on compassionate care is part of VIHASA's ongoing Values in Healthcare Series, which explores the inner values and qualities that can support professionals in their work and wellbeing.

Through these sessions, VIHASA continues to create spaces where professionals can pause, reflect, learn and connect — recognising that how we care for ourselves influences how we are able to care for others.

The 1 August gathering was another meaningful step in this journey, bringing professionals together around a shared commitment to compassionate, sustainable and values-based care.

Compassion begins within — and from there, it can flow into everything we do.