Social Work Commons^™

Intrapsychic Predictors Of Professional Quality Of Life: Mindfulness, Empathy, And Emotional Separation, Jacky T. Thomas

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

A growing literature documents the inherently stressful nature of working with persons who are suffering or traumatized, and the potential for the development of stress disorders among social workers and other helpers. Previous studies of compassion fatigue and burnout have provided important information about professional and workplace variables that might influence risk, but little attention has been given to studying intrapersonal skills/abilities that might reduce risk and/or increase resilience and work satisfaction among helping professionals. This exploratory study asked whether levels of mindfulness, empathy, and emotional separation would influence professional quality of life, including compassion fatigue, burnout, and compassion satisfaction. …