Date of Graduation

2015

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Type

PhD

College

College of Education and Human Services

Department

Counseling, Rehabilitation Counseling & Counseling Psychology

Committee Chair

Monica Leppma

Committee Co-Chair

James Bartee

Committee Member

Jeffrey Daniels

Committee Member

Edward Jacobs

Committee Member

Sam Zizzi

Abstract

This study examined the professional quality of life (ProQOL) and resiliency among a sample of 85 active and licensed mental health professionals working in acute/crisis settings in the United States. Within the ProQOL construct exists the constructs of burnout, secondary-traumatic stress, and compassion satisfaction. It was hypothesized that impaired levels of resiliency, higher frequencies of contact (FOC) with clients admitted to care due to suicide, female gender, and fewer years of experience would be associated with increased burnout and secondary traumatic stress scores and decreased compassion satisfaction scores as measured by the Professional Quality of Life Scale Version 5. Multiple regression analyses indicated that FOC was not associated with burnout, secondary-traumatic stress, or compassion satisfaction. Contrary to previous findings, female gender and years of post-masters experience did not predict burnout, secondary traumatic stress, or compassion satisfaction within this sample. However, impaired resiliency level was found to be significantly associated with the onset of burnout, accounting for 27% of the variance. Furthermore, it was found that intact and healthy resiliency scores predicted the onset of compassion satisfaction, accounting for 24% of the variance. The results provided important empirical support of the relationship between resiliency, burnout, and compassion satisfaction. Limitations, strengths, conclusions, and future directions are discussed.

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