TITLE:
The Role of Compassion for Self and Others, Compassion Fatigue and Subjective Happiness on Levels of Well-Being of Mental Health Professionals
AUTHORS:
Archontia Mantelou, Eirini Karakasidou
KEYWORDS:
Compassion for Self and Others, Compassion Fatigue and Subjective Happiness, Mental Health Professionals
JOURNAL NAME:
Psychology,
Vol.10 No.3,
February
21,
2019
ABSTRACT: This study aimed to explore the role of compassion for self and others, compassion fatigue and subjective happiness on levels of well-being of mental health professionals as well as to contribute new knowledge by investigating whether and to what extent subjective happiness of therapists can be predicted. A sample population of the online survey comprised 58 mental health professionals living and working in Greece-Athens and the method of recruitment was by opportunity sampling. This particular study employed a series of two-tailed Pearson r correlation analyses as well as independent samples t-test and a hierarchical multiple regression analysis for the analysis of the data. The results that revealed through the four different questionnaires (Self-Compassion Scale, Professional Quality of Life Scale, Compassion-for-Others-Scale and Subjective Happiness Scale) showed that self-compassion has a protective function for the therapists. It enhances their subjective happiness, which in turn protects mental health and professional quality of life of therapists by reducing the negative effects of compassion fatigue. These findings highlight the importance of self-compassion, compassion for others and subjective happiness among therapists, as they are correlated with compassion fatigue.