Cited by 1,614Stress and Burnout ResearchHealthcare professionals’ stress and burnoutOccupational Health and Burnout

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Compassion fatigue: Psychotherapists’ chronic lack of self care.

Figley, Charles R.·2002·Journal of Clinical Psychology

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Abstract

Psychotherapists who work with the chronic illness tend to disregard their own self-care needs when focusing on the needs of clients. The article discusses the concept of compassion fatigue, a form of caregiver burnout among psychotherapists and contrasts it with simple burnout and countertransference. It includes a multi-factor model of compassion fatigue that emphasizes the costs of caring, empathy, and emotional investment in helping the suffering. The model suggests that psychotherapists that limiting compassion stress, dealing with traumatic memories, and more effectively managing case loads are effective ways of avoiding compassion fatigue. The model also suggests that, to limit compassion stress, psychotherapists with chronic illness need to development methods for both enhancing satisfaction and learning to separate from the work emotionally and physically in order to feel renewed. A case study illustrates how to help someone with compassion fatigue.

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“Manifestations of VT/STS, or the way that having these symptoms look in terms of people’s behaviors or consequences, may include relationship problems, burnout, diagnoses of PTSD, unhealthy behaviors, and compassion fatigue among others (Figley, 2002; Molnar et al., 2020; Pines & Aronson, 1988).”
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“Fatigue arises from prolonged periods of exertion or sleep deprivation (Christodoulou, 2005), whereas compassion fatigue arises as “the costs of caring, empathy, and emotional investment in helping the suffering” (Figley, 2002, p. 1433).”
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Self‐care agency and self‐care practice in youth workers reduces burnout risk and improves compassion satisfaction
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“Unanswered questions remain regarding how these traits are situated within broader trait models relevant to the helping professions, such as those which classify emotion regulation [42], coping skills [43] and empathic responding [44], which is a particular risk factor for compassion fatigue [14,40].”
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“Figley (2002), şefkatli ve empatik olabilmenin bir bedeli olduğunu vurgulamış, bu durumu ‘Compassion Fatigue’ olarak ifade etmiştir6.”
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“14,15 Compassion fatigue is known as psychosocial exhaustion and causes a decrease in work-related skills and energy due to the trauma that occurs as a result of the caregiver’s willingness to approach and care for individuals in need of care with empathy.”
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“In explaining this phenomenon, Figley (2002) stated that an empathetic ability is primary to helping others, but this also puts caregivers at risk of suffering the negative effects of caring.”
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Baert, F., Miller, M. M., Trost, Z., Hirsh, A. T., McParland, J. L., Schryver, M. D., & Vervoort, T. (2019) · Journal of Pain · doi:10.1016/j.jpain.2019.06.012 · Cited by 10
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“While self- care has been shown to be an effective way to prevent distress and cope with the job demands (Figley, 2002), it is still something that many therapists have difficulty practising, as they are more likely to use their resources to prioritise giving care to others rather than themselves…”
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“The act of supporting individuals or communities who have experienced a traumatic event has the potential to negatively impact the well-being of the EPs involved (Hayes & Frederickson, 2008) and expose them to a risk of secondary trauma (Figley, 2002).”
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“CF is described as a cost of caring, and it leads to desensitization to patients’ suffering and ineffective care in the form of misjudgment, clinical errors, and poor treatment planning [1-3].”
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“Compassion fatigue is the emotional pain that some caregivers experience when exposed to a suffering person and it occurs when compassionate energy is not adequately restored (Coetzee & Klopper, 2010; Figley, 2002).”
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“It requires the counselor to empathize with the client (Carroll 2001; Figley 2002a; Rogers 1980).”
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“People experiencing it tend to feel physical discomfort upon repeatedly, involuntarily remembering major traumatic events even though they try to avoid remembering them (Figley and Roop 2006; Figley 2002a).”
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Authors: Figley, C. R.
Affiliations: Florida State University (US)
Corresponding author: Figley, Charles R.
ORCID: Figley, Charles R.
Venue: Journal of Clinical Psychology
Publisher: Wiley
Published: 2002-10-29
Volume: 58
Issue: 11
Pages: 1433-1441
ISSN: 0021-9762 (ISSN-L)
1097-4679
DOI: 10.1002/jclp.10090
OpenAlex: W2093609854
Cited by: 1,614
References: 13
Citations by year: 2026: 155 · 2025: 138 · 2024: 108 · 2023: 157 · 2022: 115 · 2021: 153 · 2020: 112 · 2019: 94 · 2018: 76 · 2017: 82 · 2016: 74 · 2015: 53 · 2014: 63 · 2013: 62 · 2012: 42
FWCI: 5.97
Type: journal article
Language: en
Open access: closed
Licence: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor (vor)
Locations: Journal of Clinical Psychology (publishedVersion)
PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics: Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Stress and Burnout Research
Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Healthcare professionals’ stress and burnout
Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Occupational Health and Burnout
Keywords: compassion fatigue, psychotherapists, self-care, caregiver burnout, countertransference, chronic disease, traumatic memory, empathy, burnout
MeSH terms: Burnout, Professional, Chronic Disease, Countertransference, Empathy, Fatigue, Humans, Models, Psychological, Psychotherapy, Self Care

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Compassion fatigue: Psychotherapists’ chronic lack of self care.

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