The role of self-care on compassion satisfaction, burnout and secondary trauma among child welfare workers

Understanding Compassion Fatigue

“…This assertion is made largely on survey-based studies (Hunsaker, Chen, Maughan, & Heaston, 2015;Alkema, Linton, & Davies, 2008;Slocum-Gori, Hemsworth, Chan, Carson, & Kazanjian, 2013). In other studies, low levels of CS and high levels of either burnout or CF have been measured (Salloum, Kondrat, Johnco, & Olson, 2015). While more research on the relationship is needed, the current research that is out there seems to indicate that an inverse relationship between CS and CF exists.…”

“…There is also some confusion as to exactly what STS is. Some authors believe secondary trauma is a synonym for CF (Salloum, Kondrat, Johnco, & Olson, 2015;. Other researchers distinguish them, although sometimes vaguely; for example, one set of authors believe that CF "encompasses the concepts of secondary (vicarious) trauma and burnout" (Thieleman & Cacciatore, 2014, p. 34), a vague description which highlights the ambiguity that exists.…”

“…CF has also been researched amongst those occupations providing non-medical care, such as: social workers (Adams, Figley, & Boscarino, 2008), psychotherapists (Figley, 2002;, child welfare workers (Salloum, Kondrat, Johnco, & Olson, 2015), those working with the disabled (van Dierendpnck, Schaufeli, & Buunk, 1998), and the clergy (Jacobson, Rothschild, Mirza, & Shapiro, 2013). All of these occupations share a common thread: they work with people oftentimes under difficult circumstances.…”

Effect of trauma-informed care on hair cortisol concentration in youth welfare staff and client physical aggression towards staff: results of a longitudinal study

“…TIC conceptualises, and reframes, problem behaviour in the context of an individual's traumatic experience(s), and involves anticipating and avoiding institutional and individual practices that could increase the risk of traumatic re-enactment [25]. Besides addressing the needs of traumatised individuals, TIC further aims to promote the self-efficacy and work related resilience of youth welfare staff, by guiding them to a better understanding of their countertransference and personal stress symptoms and by promoting their self-care [23,[26][27][28]. Continuous selfawareness and self-care may reduce stress and distress among social-service professionals, thereby enhancing work satisfaction and quality of care in the institution [29,30].…”

“…Youth welfare employees are continuously exposed to the traumatic experiences and challenging emotional and behavioural coping strategies of their clients and are at increased risk for developing burnout and secondary traumatic stress [28,30,33]. Furthermore, traumatic experiences of the children and adolescents may increase the risk of escalating interactions and physical violence against youth welfare staff [34,35].…”