Date of Conferral

2023

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Psychology

Advisor

John Astin

Abstract

School counselors play a crucial role in U.S. education. In recent years, their student caseloads have increased as more students are diagnosed with a mental health disorder. With additional stressors from providing social/emotional counseling, school counselors are vulnerable to secondary traumatic stress, vicarious trauma, and compassion fatigue; however, research was limited on counselors' experiences of these conditions. The purpose of this qualitative study was to gain understanding of school counselors' experiences of compassion fatigue and strategies for coping. Ten school counselors from public schools in Arizona, who had scored in the moderate- to high-risk range on the Compassion Fatigue Self-Test, were interviewed about their experiences with compassion fatigue. From these interviews, four themes were identified: symptoms of compassion fatigue, sources of compassion fatigue, value of support from colleagues, and coping mechanisms. All participants reported experiencing symptoms of compassion fatigue. Participants tended to have a larger list of self-care strategies than maladaptive coping skills. All participants indicated that difficult student issues and lack of institutional support, not personal attributes and work/life balance issues, were primary sources of compassion fatigue. Participants suggested some strategies (e.g., smaller caseloads, professional development opportunities, supportive leadership, and training for administrators) that school district leaders could implement to address the compassion fatigue issue among school counselors. These changes could lead to positive social change by helping counselors to cope with and even avoid compassion fatigue, which might allow them to enjoy greater longevity in their student-serving roles.

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