Compassion; A Double-Edged Sword in Psychotherapy and the Shield of Self-Care

Compassion Fatigue plagues the industry of social workers and other caregiving professions. Interventions for the same have garnered significant attention in order to maintain the competency and wellbeing of the professionals. This study focused on mental health practitioners in Delhi NCR, India; specifically, those providing counselling and psychotherapy services. 26 Private Practitioners and 16 Salaried Employees (N=42) participated through an online form consisting of a demographic survey relevant to their particular practice, Professional Quality of Life Scale (ProQOL) Version 5 developed by Stamm (2009) and the Self-Care Assessment for Psychologists (SCAP) developed by Dorociak and colleagues (2017). Data collected was analysed using Pearson correlation, t-test and Mann-Whitney U test for nonparametric measures. Results obtained were inconclusive with certain domains of the ProQOL significantly correlating with some domains of SCAP. Nonparametric testing indicated that only the domains of Compassion Satisfaction, Burnout (ProQOL domains) and Daily Balance (SCAP domain) differed significantly among the two sample groups of Private Practitioners and Salaried Employees. Self-care practices did not have any influence on Secondary Traumatic Stress. This study had significant limitations in terms of the narrow sample size and time constraints, further research on this theme with a greater sample size ought to produce coherent and comprehensive results that aid in drawing inferences, thereby contributing to the mental wellbeing of psychotherapists.