Vicarious trauma and burnout: the role of self-compassion
Grace Woolway, Susannah Jenner, Dorothy King, Hjördis Lorenz · 2026
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Description
Grace Woolway and co-authors report a 2026 journal article on the emotional cost to psychologists of hearing clients' trauma stories. Absorbing others' trauma can reshape a therapist's beliefs about self and world, a strain called vicarious trauma. The team surveyed United Kingdom practitioner psychologists who had been exposed to such stories at work.
In total, 255 psychologists completed the survey and reported moderate levels of vicarious trauma. Higher trauma scores came with higher burnout across personal, work, and client-related measures. Both burdens ran higher in psychologists scoring low on self-compassion. Self-compassion did not clearly buffer the trauma-to-burnout link, though one sub-check hinted self-kindness might soften it slightly. The authors back routine screening.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | Grace Woolway, Susannah Jenner, Dorothy King, Hjördis Lorenz |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 2026 |
| COLLECTION | PAPERS |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 44769 |
| LICENSE | https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 |
| RIGHTS | CC BY |
| SOURCE | Europe PMC |