Distress and Professional Quality of Life among Clinical Psychologists and Psychiatrists

Abstract

Clinical psychologists and psychiatrists are helping professionals. They provide direct care and help for individuals suffering from different mental illnesses and trauma that can affect their own mental health. The present study aimed to explore distress that is experienced by clinical psychologists and psychiatrists while helping others and to assess professional quality of life among them. In this correlational study, 150 clinical psychologists and psychiatrists working in different public and private hospitals of Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Lahore and Sargodha were recruited. Demographic questionnaire, Professional Quality of Life Scale (version v) and Psychological Distress scale were used for data collection. Result indicated that 23.3 % participants reported mild distress, 14% reported moderate and 4.7% reported severe distress. Moreover Burnout and Secondary Traumatic Stress are positively linked with Distress and Compassion Satisfaction is negatively linked with Distress. Findings suggest that it is very important to assess the mental health of clinical psychologists and psychiatrists so that appropriate strategies can be developed to minimized Distress, Burnout and Secondary Traumatic Stress among helping professions.