Emotional toll that psychotherapy may impose on mental health professionals: A protective role of quality of life was not observed for clinical supervision or personal therapy

Laverdière, O., Kealy, D., Ogrodniczuk, J. S., Chamberland, S., & Descôteaux, J. (2018). Psychotherapists’ professional quality of life. Traumatology, http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/trm0000177

Abstract: Psychotherapists’ daily activities entail working closely with individuals presenting with psychological distress and suffering from various mental disorders. This work relies upon relational and emotional capacities that are drawn upon during therapy sessions. Increasingly, researchers and clinicians have directed their attention toward examining the emotional toll that psychotherapy may impose on mental health professionals and the impact of such work on their professional quality of life. However, to date, psychotherapists in general practice have not been the focus of inquiry, which is the objective of the current study. To this end, 240 psychotherapists were surveyed, completing questionnaires relating to their working conditions, professional quality of life, and dispositional empathy. Results indicated significant negative associations between dimensions of professional quality of life and various work characteristics, such as workload, conducting only long-term psychotherapies or only with individuals, working in institutional settings, and working with trauma victims. A protective role was not observed for clinical supervision or personal therapy, but dispositional empathy was positively associated to dimensions of professional quality of life. Findings are discussed in relation to professional activities and self-care practices.