Kercher Amy, Rahman Jodie, Pedersen Mangor
Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, New Zealand.
Front Psychol. 2024 Apr 25;15:1339869. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1339869. eCollection 2024.
Psychologists are at known risk of work-related stress, secondary trauma, and burnout. The COVID-19 pandemic increased stress and anxiety for communities worldwide and corresponded with an increased demand for mental health services. Our study investigated the impact of COVID-19 on psychologists' professional quality of life, psychological symptoms, and work-related stress in Aotearoa, New Zealand (NZ).
Ninety-nine registered psychologists were recruited via NZ professional psychology organizations, representing 3% of the total workforce. Survey data collected included symptoms of compassion fatigue and satisfaction, psychological symptoms, COVID-19-related stress and resilience, and professional and personal circumstances during the third year of the pandemic, 2022.
Seventy percent reported that their work stress had increased, and 60% reported that their caseload intensity had increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. Psychologists reported receiving little to no additional personal or professional support, while 55% reported increased personal responsibilities during the pandemic (for example, closed childcare and schools during lockdowns). High rates of compassion fatigue (burnout and secondary traumatic stress) and low resilience were reported. We observed that psychological distress was higher than the community averages before the pandemic and comparable with frontline healthcare professionals. Compassion fatigue was associated with COVID-related stress, psychological distress, years in practice, and more frequent supervision, but not with working with at-risk clients, levels of personal support, or having children at home. Despite these difficulties, high Compassion Satisfaction scores were also reported, with over 90% indicating they had no intention of leaving the profession in the foreseeable future.
Psychologists' compassion fatigue appears to have worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic, as have their symptoms of psychological distress. Increased workplace and clinical demands, telehealth difficulties, stress relating to the pandemic, inadequate support, and increased personal responsibilities were reported by psychologists. Mental health workforces are not immune to the personal and professional impacts of crises and are at risk of burnout and secondary traumatic stress. We hope that increased awareness and understanding of psychologists' own difficulties during COVID-19 can be used to better tackle future crises and support mental health professionals.
心理学家面临与工作相关的压力、继发性创伤和职业倦怠的已知风险。新冠疫情增加了全球社区的压力和焦虑，同时心理健康服务需求也相应增加。我们的研究调查了新冠疫情对新西兰奥塔哥地区心理学家职业生活质量、心理症状和工作相关压力的影响。
通过新西兰专业心理学组织招募了99名注册心理学家，占总劳动力的3%。收集的调查数据包括同情疲劳和满意度症状、心理症状、与新冠疫情相关的压力和恢复力，以及疫情第三年（2022年）的职业和个人情况。
70%的人报告说他们的工作压力增加了，60%的人报告说在新冠疫情期间他们的工作量强度增加了。心理学家报告说几乎没有得到额外的个人或职业支持，而55%的人报告说在疫情期间个人责任增加了（例如，封锁期间托儿所和学校关闭）。报告显示同情疲劳（职业倦怠和继发性创伤压力）发生率高，恢复力低。我们观察到，心理困扰高于疫情前的社区平均水平，与一线医疗专业人员相当。同情疲劳与新冠相关压力、心理困扰、从业年限以及更频繁的督导有关，但与为高危客户提供服务、个人支持水平或家中有孩子无关。尽管有这些困难，但同情满意度得分也很高，超过90%的人表示在可预见的未来他们无意离开该职业。
在新冠疫情期间，心理学家的同情疲劳似乎有所恶化，他们的心理困扰症状也是如此。心理学家报告说工作场所和临床需求增加、远程医疗困难、与疫情相关的压力、支持不足以及个人责任增加。心理健康工作者也不能免受危机对个人和职业的影响，有职业倦怠和继发性创伤压力的风险。我们希望，提高对心理学家在新冠疫情期间自身困难的认识和理解，可用于更好地应对未来危机并支持心理健康专业人员。
