Psychologists are expected to engage in self-care strategies aimed at promoting and maintaining well-functioning in themselves (Saakvitne & Pearlman, 1996) in order to effectively manage the demands of their profession and better ensure the provision of quality care. However, self-care is also a clinical competency of professional psychology that has historically been insufficiently addressed in training (Donovan & Ponce, 2009). According to the APA Board of Professional Affairs Advisory Committee on Colleague Assistance, a better understanding of functioning in psychologists is necessary to properly promote self-care across the career-span (2005). There is a need for research in this area to establish evidence-based self-care practices. This study lends empirical support for an increased focus on psychologist self-care with specific attention to the relationships between Perceived Stress, Psychological Distress, and Coping Self-Efficacy across the career-span. Results largely support hypotheses that there are significant relationships between the variables. With regard to differences in sample means across the career-span, Late career psychologists’ scores were significantly higher than Early career psychologists’ for Self-Care frequency and Coping Self-Efficacy. Late career psychologists’ Perceived Stress levels were significantly lower. Further, there are differences in frequency and type of Self-Care practices between Early and Late career psychologists. Implications, limitations, and suggestions for future research are provided.
","abstract_html":"<p>Psychologists are expected to engage in self-care strategies aimed at promoting and maintaining well-functioning in themselves (Saakvitne & Pearlman, 1996) in order to effectively manage the demands of their profession and better ensure the provision of quality care. However, self-care is also a clinical competency of professional psychology that has historically been insufficiently addressed in training (Donovan & Ponce, 2009). According to the APA Board of Professional Affairs Advisory Committee on Colleague Assistance, a better understanding of functioning in psychologists is necessary to properly promote self-care across the career-span (2005). There is a need for research in this area to establish evidence-based self-care practices. This study lends empirical support for an increased focus on psychologist self-care with specific attention to the relationships between Perceived Stress, Psychological Distress, and Coping Self-Efficacy across the career-span. Results largely support hypotheses that there are significant relationships between the variables. With regard to differences in sample means across the career-span, Late career psychologists’ scores were significantly higher than Early career psychologists’ for Self-Care frequency and Coping Self-Efficacy. Late career psychologists’ Perceived Stress levels were significantly lower. Further, there are differences in frequency and type of Self-Care practices between Early and Late career psychologists. Implications, limitations, and suggestions for future research are provided.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Dettle, Krista L."],"institution":null,"degree_name":"PhD Counseling Psychology","degree_level":"Dissertation","degree_discipline":"Professional Psychology and Family Therapy","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Laura K. Palmer, PhD","Pamela F. Foley, PhD","Margaret Brady-Amoon, PhD","John E. Smith, EdD"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2014,"date_issued":"2014-08-13T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2014-08-13T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T04:32:52Z","subjects":["psychologist","career-span","self-care","perceived stress","coping self-efficacy","Counseling Psychology","Psychology"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://scholarship.shu.edu/dissertations/2000","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Laura K. Palmer, PhD","Pamela F. Foley, PhD","Margaret Brady-Amoon, PhD","John E. Smith, EdD"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Dettle, Krista L."]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2014-09-24T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Professional Psychology and Family Therapy"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["PhD Counseling Psychology"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["psychologist","career-span","self-care","perceived stress","coping self-efficacy","Counseling Psychology","Psychology"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://scholarship.shu.edu/dissertations/2000"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Psychologists are expected to engage in self-care strategies aimed at promoting and maintaining well-functioning in themselves (Saakvitne & Pearlman, 1996) in order to effectively manage the demands of their profession and better ensure the provision of quality care. However, self-care is also a clinical competency of professional psychology that has historically been insufficiently addressed in training (Donovan & Ponce, 2009). According to the APA Board of Professional Affairs Advisory Committee on Colleague Assistance, a better understanding of functioning in psychologists is necessary to properly promote self-care across the career-span (2005). There is a need for research in this area to establish evidence-based self-care practices. This study lends empirical support for an increased focus on psychologist self-care with specific attention to the relationships between Perceived Stress, Psychological Distress, and Coping Self-Efficacy across the career-span. Results largely support hypotheses that there are significant relationships between the variables. With regard to differences in sample means across the career-span, Late career psychologists’ scores were significantly higher than Early career psychologists’ for Self-Care frequency and Coping Self-Efficacy. Late career psychologists’ Perceived Stress levels were significantly lower. Further, there are differences in frequency and type of Self-Care practices between Early and Late career psychologists. Implications, limitations, and suggestions for future research are provided.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Psychologist Self-Care, Perceived Stress, Psychological Distress, and Coping Self-Efficacy Across the Career-Span"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Laura K. Palmer, PhD","Pamela F. Foley, PhD","Margaret Brady-Amoon, PhD","John E. Smith, EdD"],"dc:creator":["Dettle, Krista L."],"dc:date.available":["2014-09-24T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Psychologists are expected to engage in self-care strategies aimed at promoting and maintaining well-functioning in themselves (Saakvitne & Pearlman, 1996) in order to effectively manage the demands of their profession and better ensure the provision of quality care. However, self-care is also a clinical competency of professional psychology that has historically been insufficiently addressed in training (Donovan & Ponce, 2009). According to the APA Board of Professional Affairs Advisory Committee on Colleague Assistance, a better understanding of functioning in psychologists is necessary to properly promote self-care across the career-span (2005). There is a need for research in this area to establish evidence-based self-care practices. This study lends empirical support for an increased focus on psychologist self-care with specific attention to the relationships between Perceived Stress, Psychological Distress, and Coping Self-Efficacy across the career-span. Results largely support hypotheses that there are significant relationships between the variables. With regard to differences in sample means across the career-span, Late career psychologists’ scores were significantly higher than Early career psychologists’ for Self-Care frequency and Coping Self-Efficacy. Late career psychologists’ Perceived Stress levels were significantly lower. Further, there are differences in frequency and type of Self-Care practices between Early and Late career psychologists. Implications, limitations, and suggestions for future research are provided.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://scholarship.shu.edu/dissertations/2000"],"dc:subject":["psychologist","career-span","self-care","perceived stress","coping self-efficacy","Counseling Psychology","Psychology"],"dc:title":["Psychologist Self-Care, Perceived Stress, Psychological Distress, and Coping Self-Efficacy Across the Career-Span"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Professional Psychology and Family Therapy"],"thesis:degree_level":["Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_name":["PhD Counseling Psychology"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T04:32:52Z"}