Exploring resilience and mindfulness as preventative factors for psychological distress burnout and secondary traumatic stress among human service professionals.
BACKGROUND
Human service professionals are concerned with the intervention and empowerment of vulnerable social populations. The human service industry is laden with employment-related stressors and emotionally demanding interactions, which can lead to deleterious effects, such as burnout and secondary traumatic stress. Little attention has been given to developing knowledge of what might enable human service workers to persist and thrive. Cultivating and sustaining resilience can buffer the impact of occupational stressors on human service professionals. One of the psychological factors associated with cultivating resilience is mindfulness.


OBJECTIVE
The aim of this current research is to improve our understanding of the relationship between resilience, mindfulness, burnout, secondary traumatic stress, and psychological distress among human service professionals.


METHODS
The current study surveyed 133 human service professionals working in the fields of psychology, social work, counseling, youth and foster care work to explore the predictive relationship between resilience, mindfulness, and psychological distress.


RESULTS
The results showed that higher levels of resilience were a significant predictor of lower levels of psychological distress, burnout and secondary traumatic stress. In addition, higher levels of mindfulness were a significant predictor of lower levels of psychological distress and burnout.


CONCLUSIONS
The findings suggest that cultivating resilience and mindfulness in human service professionals may assist in preventing psychological distress burnout and secondary traumatic stress. Limitations of this study are discussed together with implications for future research.
Department of Psychology, Bond University, Robina, QLD, Australia.
Rachel
R
Harker
Department of Psychology, Bond University, Robina, QLD, Australia.
Aileen M
AM
Pidgeon
Mercy Family Services, Toowoomba, QLD, Australia.
Frances
F
Klaassen
Mercy Family Services, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.
Steven
S
King
D000328:Adult; D002055:Burnout, Professional / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D064866:Mindfulness; D000067073:Psychological Trauma / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000523:psychology; D055500:Resilience, Psychological; D000068217:Social Workers / Q000523:psychology*; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000523:psychology; D055815:Young Adult
Work; healthcare workers; mental health; stress