The Family Assistance Education & Research Foundation (FAERF) has been at the forefront of the evolution of emergency management, combining the head-heart approach for a fully integrated response to survivors of traumatic loss. Practicing compassion consciousness in the workplace involves caring for people first, without exception.
Written by: Carolyn V. Coarsey, Ph.D.
April 2026
Today being twenty years since the accident in Chile where I lost Carole, I am enclosing a check for $360 as a donation to the FAERF Institute in her memory.
-Hal Ruchelman
In March 2006, Hal’s wife Carole died in a bus accident in Arica, Chile. Carole and eleven other tourists died when the small mini-bus rolled down a steep hill, leaving Hal and one other guest injured and stranded, awaiting rescue. The bus driver and tour guide both survived. Hal’s daughter Suzanne was provided news of the accident immediately by the Celebrity/Royal Caribbean (RCL) telephone team and the inclusion of the entire family assistance plan began.
In videotaped interviews, Hal detailed other support by the Care Team, and numerous (RCL) corporate responders as the company rolled out an enormous program of compassion and practical support. Approximately one year following the tragedy Hal and Suzanne presented the story of the response at the Family Assistance Foundation’s Symposium in Miami, FL. Since that time their story has been used in numerous educational programs and videos presented in training venues.
Most recently in a Foundation update Hal’s story reappeared along with a letter he wrote me about his gratitude on the 20th anniversary of Carole’s death (read FAERF special edition here). Over the years two prevalent concepts have continued to appear in the psychological literature which can be found in Hal’s story and are at the heart of Human Services Response™ (HSR) Training practiced by Foundation members: Compassion and Gratitude.
Compassion
Compassion is essential to healing from traumatic loss as it shifts the nervous system from survival to a state of emotional safety which promotes long term healing. Compassion from others reduces symptoms of posttraumatic stress (PTS), anxiety, and depression and promotes posttraumatic growth (PTG).
Compassion from others is associated with activating the parasympathetic and vagal nerve responses, reducing the fight-flight response states triggered by trauma. Discussions of the how the Polyvagal Theory, introduced by neuroscientist Dr. Stephen Porges (1994) relates to how Care Team responders’ approach was presented in Consciousness@Work July 2025 and August 2025 articles. Just the presence of a calm, well-trained individual by itself reduces the survivor’s stress response.
In addition to reduction of stress reaction, science shows that healthy hormones such as oxytocin (the bonding hormone) and dopamine both associated with relief from emotional distress are linked to a compassionate response. Research shows that these hormones are related to long-term consolidation of traumatic memories.
Finally, compassion shown by helpers allows survivors to reframe their suffering as part of shared experience of the human condition, reducing self-blame, shame and self-criticism which often are associated with grief and survivor guilt. Psychologists refer to this as cognitive reframing.
My original doctoral research (1992) showed the power employees of an organization experiencing a disaster have on mitigating psychological symptoms of survivors. It is easy to see how the Royal Caribbean’s employee compassion produced a heightened healing impact on family and primary survivors like Hal and Suzanne.
Gratitude
Cognitive reframing applied to the experience of gratitude helps survivors regain control over their narrative shifting focus from victimhood to empowerment. Survivors like Hal and Suzanne provided examples of gratitude toward the cruise line from the very beginning of the tragedy starting with their response to him in the hospital and the timely telephone contact with Suzanne prior to her seeing it on local media coverage.
Experience of gratitude activates the brain’s reward system releasing dopamine and serotonin. Research shows that like the experience of compassion, when healthy hormones are released, the parasympathetic nervous system is activated thereby relaxing the amygdala. The hyperarousal of the amygdala, where emotions are experienced, produces the long-term effects of trauma. Expressions like the letter recently written to the Foundation by Hal clearly show how his feelings of gratitude have reduced the harmful effects of the tragedy.
Interviews with Hal and Suzanne and numerous survivors of workplace tragedy experienced by primary and family survivors reveal the power of gratitude in their healing. Gratitude acts as the bridge between suffering and growth, allowing survivors to expand memories of their wound to include memories of compassion and love shown by the organization’s leadership and Care Team responders.
For more insights from survivors and responders and their impact on healing, visit the Consciousness@Work article library.