Compassion and compassion fatigue among mental health counselors while serving traumatized clients
16th World Congress on Psychiatry and Psychological Syndromes
April 24-25, 2017 Las Vegas, USA

TaJuana Wade

Argosy University, USA

Posters & Accepted Abstracts: J Psychiatry

Abstract:

Showing empathy towards those whom we help is important. As we express empathy, it can lead to a profound level of compassion for clients and patients who have experienced misfortune and suffering. Having compassion towards those whom we help is good but when that same compassion that is used, turns and affects those who are helping and problems arises such as burnout and compassion fatigue. Compassion fatigue is subtle and distinct from burnout and doctors, nurses, psychologists, counselors and teachers all experience stress, burnout. However, helping professionals could experience compassion fatigue and may not be aware that they are experiencing it. According to authors, Slocum-Gori, Hemsworth, WY Chan, Carson, Kazanjian (2011), they described compassion fatigue as "often been referred to as the emotional cost of caring" for others and has led professionals to abandon their work with traumatized victims in their care. It is portrayed as a stress response that emerges suddenly within the helping professional and without warning (p. 173). The research being conducted is looking at the difference between genders, the length of work in the profession and level of self-care that may be contributing factors to mental health counselors experiencing compassion fatigue. The writer hopes to demonstrate, that there is a correlation between the length of time mental health clinicians serves as a professional significantly impact their experiencing compassion fatigue, female mental health clinicians that work with traumatized clients who have experienced emotional trauma are prone to significant levels of compassion fatigue than male mental health clinician, and that mental health clinicians who treat traumatized clients do not implement significant personal care to prevent compassion fatigue. The results and findings of this research will be discussed in the small discussion group.

Biography :

Email: wadetaj@stu.argosy.edu