PSYCHOSOCIAL CONDITION OF PSYCHOLOGISTS, PSYCHOTHERAPISTS IN TRAINING AND CERTIFIED PSYCHOTHERAPISTS WORKING IN COUNSELING

Providing psychological help or support to other people means being exposed to suffering and all sorts of difficulties on a regular basis.Being an empathetic listener who stays attentive and responsive to other people's needs in such situations can result in emotional exhaustion of a professional.Taken together with no regular self-care and self-help it can lead to compassion fatigue or work burnout.A study was conducted in which the differences between the mean levels of psychological hardiness, perceived social support, and levels of secondary traumatic stress were assessed in groups of psychologists, psychotherapists in training and certified psychotherapists.Also measured was the mean level of early maladaptive schemas in each of the analyzed groups.The study involved a group of 180 respondents aged 24-76 (M=41.20;SD=9.66), including 162 women and 18 men who offer psychological help and psychotherapy to children, adolescents and adults.Among all respondents there were 59 psychologists, 38 psychotherapists in training and 83 certified psychotherapists.All of the respondents filled in sets of questionnaires that included Psychological Hardiness Scale, Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, Secondary Traumatic Stress Scale, and Young's Schema Questionnaire.It was discovered that among people who do not supervise their work there are psychologists, while most psychotherapists in training and certified psychotherapists regularly supervise their work.Based on the gathered results it was discovered that there are statistically significant differences in the mean levels of early maladaptive schemas (namely: self-sacrifice, entitlement/ grandiosity, and negativity/ pessimism) between groups of psychologists, psychotherapists in training and certified psychotherapists.There was also a statistically significant difference between the mean levels of self-sacrifice schema between respondents who regularly supervise their work and those who do not attend supervision.The results obtained in the study can serve as a starting point for future research concerning risk factors and preventive factors observed in psychologists and psychotherapists working in counseling.It can also be useful while planning preventive programs aimed at maintaining high levels of well-being of mental health specialists.