Self-Care and Professional Quality of Life Among Practicing Psychologists

Psychologists are no strangers to stress and burnout. However, they derive satisfaction from their work as they believe it to be helpful. Self-care practices help in this regard, acting as both a catalyst for satisfaction and a buffer against burnout and secondary trauma. However, research is limited on the role of self-care in protecting psychologists in Pakistan. The present study aimed to discover the effect of professional self-care on the professional quality of life, compassion satisfaction, and compassion fatigue, among practicing psychologists. Employing a cross-sectional survey design, data was collected through a purposive sampling technique from (N=138) psychologists in Rawalpindi and Islamabad. The results indicated that all five factors of professional self-care measured in the scale were negatively associated with burnout and secondary traumatic stress and positively associated with compassion satisfaction. Further results indicated that personal demographics such as age and parental status, and work variables including work experience or supervision, had an impact on the professional quality of life. Overall, professional self-care strategies are an important shield against the negative effects of psychologists’ work. Further research would aid in providing a richer insight into the dynamics of self-care and its effect on Pakistani psychologists.