Secondary Traumatic Stress, Burnout, and Psychological Distress among Mental Health Professionals

Purpose: Mental health professionals dedicatedly provide support to individuals suffering from psychological issues, in this process their own mental health may compromise. The current study was conducted to investigate the relationship between secondary traumatic stress, burn out and psychological distress, as well as to look for other factors that may contribute for the development of these issues.
Design/Methodology/Approach: Current Study utilized Correlational approach. Convenient sampling was used to collect data from 150 mental health professionals.
Findings: Pearson Bivariate Correlation analysis suggest significant positive correlation between study variables. Regression analysis indicated Secondary Traumatic Stress as a significant positive predictor of psychological distress. Compared to clinical psychologist, psychiatrists have higher Secondary Traumatic Stress, Burnout and psychological distress.
Implications: These findings highlight the need to develop appropriate strategies for these professionals to minimize secondary traumatic stress, burnout and psychological distress, that in turn enable professionals to deliver quality mental health services for their clients.