Compassion fatigue and global compassion fatigue in practitioner psychologists: a qualitative study

Abstract

Practitioner psychologists are at risk of compassion fatigue (CF) due to the emotional demands of helping individuals who have experienced pain and suffering. Practitioner psychologists may also be impacted by wider socio-political events (such as the COVID-19 pandemic), which can lead to global compassion fatigue (GCF). While these concepts have been examined in various healthcare professionals, research exploring the impact of CF and GCF on practitioner psychologists has been very limited. This study therefore aimed to explore the impact of compassion fatigue (CF) and global compassion fatigue (GCF) on practitioner psychologists’ practice. Ten participants were recruited for online semi-structured interviews during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Data collected was thematically analysed. Five themes related to compassionate care were identified, which included: ‘How to be compassionate’, ‘Psychologists require TLC too!’, ‘Hindrances of compassionate care’, ‘Constraints within the NHS’ and ‘Indicators of compassion fatigue and burnout’. Three themes related to GCF were identified, which included: ‘Effects of news/social media’, ‘Management of news/social media’ and ‘Challenges faced by COVID-19’. The implications of CF and GCF and ways to mitigate their effects on practitioner psychologists’ wellbeing, development, and their practice are discussed.

“Bridging the Gap”: A reflexive thematic analysis of the experiences of therapy trainees transitioning from psychodynamic counselling to cognitive behavioural therapy

“…It is not clear to what extent the global context at the time the study was conducted impacted the findings obtained. However, it is worthwhile considering the work ofStevens and Al-Abbadey (2023) who, in their study of professional psychologists, found that practitioners were at risk of experiencing compassion fatigue not only as a consequence of the emotional labour of working with clients' problems but also through exposure to the potentially distressing, unprecedented nature of global sociopolitical events-a phenomenon they term "global compassion fatigue." Further research with other trainee cohorts in a postpandemic training environment would, therefore, be beneficial in helping extend and refine the findings of this study.4.3 | Recommendations for future researchWhile definite themes emerged from the data, there appeared to be marked differences in how trainees experienced and adapted to the transition between modalities.…”