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This version was published on June 1, 2008
Traumatology, Vol. 14, No. 2, 32-44 (2008)
DOI: 10.1177/1534765608319083

Helping Till It Hurts? A Multimethod Study of Compassion Fatigue, Burnout, and Self-Care in Clinicians Working With Trauma Survivors

Kyle D. Killian

Centre for Refugee Studies, at York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, killian{at}yorku.ca

There is burgeoning interest in secondary traumatic stress, compassion fatigue, and self-care in the helping professions. This multimethod study focused on therapists' stress and coping in their work with trauma survivors, identifying factors related to resilience and burnout. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 20 clinicians subscribing to a systems perspective, and 104 clinicians were administered a questionnaire inquiring about their caseloads, trauma history, coping styles, emotional self-awareness, work stress, compassion satisfaction, compassion fatigue, and burnout. Interview data demonstrated that therapists detect job stress through bodily symptoms, mood changes, sleep disturbances, becoming easily distracted, and increased difficulty concentrating. Self-care strategies included processing with peers/supervisor, spirituality, exercise, and spending time with family. In the quantitative study, social support, work hours, and internal locus of control accounted for 41% of the variance in compassion satisfaction. Multiple regression procedures accounted for 54% of the variance in compassion fatigue and 74% of the variance in burnout. Implications for clinical training and organizational policy are discussed.

Key Words: compassion fatigue • secondary traumatization • professional self-care • organizational policy


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