Abstract
This study used a survey to investigate the relationship between mindfulness and compassion fatigue and compassion satisfaction among 41 volunteers and professionals at an agency serving the traumatically bereaved. Compassion fatigue comprises two aspects: secondary traumatic stress and burnout. Because prior research suggests that compassion satisfaction may protect against compassion fatigue, the authors hypothesized that (a) mindfulness would be positively correlated with compassion satisfaction, (b) mindfulness would be inversely correlated with compassion fatigue, and (c) there would be differences between respondents with a personal history of traumatic bereavement and those with no such history. Correlation analyses supported the first two hypotheses; an independent means t test did not provide evidence for the latter hypothesis, although the number of nontraumatically bereaved respondents was small. Overall, this sample showed surprisingly high levels of compassion satisfaction and low levels of compassion fatigue, even among respondents thought to be at higher risk of problems due to personal trauma. Implications of these findings are particularly relevant for social workers and other professionals employed in positions in which they encounter trauma and high emotional stress.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 34-41 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Journal | Social Work (United States) |
| Volume | 59 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jan 2014 |
Fingerprint
Keywords
- burnout
- compassion fatigue
- mindfulness
- secondary traumatic stress
- traumatic bereavement
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Sociology and Political Science
Cite this
Witness to suffering : Mindfulness and compassion fatigue among traumatic bereavement volunteers and Professionals. / Thieleman, Kara; Cacciatore, Joanne.
In: Social Work (United States), Vol. 59, No. 1, 01.2014, p. 34-41.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Witness to suffering
T2 - Mindfulness and compassion fatigue among traumatic bereavement volunteers and Professionals
AU - Thieleman, Kara
AU - Cacciatore, Joanne
PY - 2014/1
Y1 - 2014/1
N2 - This study used a survey to investigate the relationship between mindfulness and compassion fatigue and compassion satisfaction among 41 volunteers and professionals at an agency serving the traumatically bereaved. Compassion fatigue comprises two aspects: secondary traumatic stress and burnout. Because prior research suggests that compassion satisfaction may protect against compassion fatigue, the authors hypothesized that (a) mindfulness would be positively correlated with compassion satisfaction, (b) mindfulness would be inversely correlated with compassion fatigue, and (c) there would be differences between respondents with a personal history of traumatic bereavement and those with no such history. Correlation analyses supported the first two hypotheses; an independent means t test did not provide evidence for the latter hypothesis, although the number of nontraumatically bereaved respondents was small. Overall, this sample showed surprisingly high levels of compassion satisfaction and low levels of compassion fatigue, even among respondents thought to be at higher risk of problems due to personal trauma. Implications of these findings are particularly relevant for social workers and other professionals employed in positions in which they encounter trauma and high emotional stress.
AB - This study used a survey to investigate the relationship between mindfulness and compassion fatigue and compassion satisfaction among 41 volunteers and professionals at an agency serving the traumatically bereaved. Compassion fatigue comprises two aspects: secondary traumatic stress and burnout. Because prior research suggests that compassion satisfaction may protect against compassion fatigue, the authors hypothesized that (a) mindfulness would be positively correlated with compassion satisfaction, (b) mindfulness would be inversely correlated with compassion fatigue, and (c) there would be differences between respondents with a personal history of traumatic bereavement and those with no such history. Correlation analyses supported the first two hypotheses; an independent means t test did not provide evidence for the latter hypothesis, although the number of nontraumatically bereaved respondents was small. Overall, this sample showed surprisingly high levels of compassion satisfaction and low levels of compassion fatigue, even among respondents thought to be at higher risk of problems due to personal trauma. Implications of these findings are particularly relevant for social workers and other professionals employed in positions in which they encounter trauma and high emotional stress.
KW - burnout
KW - compassion fatigue
KW - mindfulness
KW - secondary traumatic stress
KW - traumatic bereavement
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84893820690&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84893820690&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1093/sw/swt044
DO - 10.1093/sw/swt044
M3 - Article
C2 - 24640229
AN - SCOPUS:84893820690
VL - 59
SP - 34
EP - 41
JO - Social Work (United States)
JF - Social Work (United States)
SN - 0037-8046
IS - 1
ER -