Therapists' Experiences of Trauma, Compassion Fatigue, and Compassion Satisfaction: The Role of Post Traumatic Growth

<p>Experiencing traumatic events can have a profound impact on human beings, ranging from mild distress to severe symptomology. The mental health professionals that serve traumatized populations are also at risk of exposure in their work. While there are many factors that contribute to negative and positive consequences of clinical work with trauma, the influence of a therapist’s own trauma seems to have mixed findings. This study was designed to better understand the role of a therapist’s personal trauma on negative and positive associations of clinical work, specifically compassion fatigue and compassion satisfaction. There were no significant correlations found between the experience of personal trauma and compassion fatigue and compassion satisfaction. However, mediation analysis showed that post traumatic growth partially mediates the amount of compassion satisfaction experienced by therapists who are at risk for PTSD. In addition, compassion satisfaction partially mediates the relationship between PTSD and compassion fatigue. These findings have significant implications for training and supervision of therapists working in the field.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Marriage and Family Therapy

Year

2019

Author dc:creator

• Reichert Schimpff, Tracey

Contributors dc:contributor

• Linda Stone Fish

• compassion fatigue
• compassion satisfaction
• therapists
• trauma
• Social and Behavioral Sciences

Repository record dc:identifier

https://surface.syr.edu/etd/995

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:surface.syr.edu:etd-1996