Private practice psychologists' use of peer supervision groups and experiences of compassion fatigue, burnout and compassion satisfactio

While current research shows that private practice psychologists recently reported lower overall rates of burnout and more feelings of success than psychologists in agency settings, they also reported less time spent in supervisory activities and higher rates of emotional exhaustion and overinvolvernent in client material (Rupert & Morgan, 2005). The informal work structure and lack of formal venue for peer interactions are unique to private practice psychologists. Greenburg, Lewis, and Johnson (1985) advocated peer consultation groups as a way to manage professional needs of private practitioners. The professional quality of life of practitioners may be improved by understanding their experiences of compassion fatigue, burnout, and compassion satisfaction and the role of peer supervision groups. The results of an online survey show that of forty-three independent practice psychologists, 39% currently participate in some type of peer supervision group and 34.9% have participated in the past. The results also show that this sample has relatively average or lower than average scores on compassion fatigue and burnout, and relatively average or higher than average scores on compassion satisfaction on the ProQOL IV-R (Stamm, 2005). A series of three multiple regressions were conducted to explore predictive factors of compassion fatigue, burnout, and compassion satisfaction. Overall, peer supervision group participation was not found to be a significant predictive factor. The number of years in practice was found to be a significant predictor of compassion fatigue. A post-hoc analysis suggests that a higher number of years in practice may be indicative of lower scores on a measure of compassion fatigue. Implications, limitations, and future directions of these findings are discussed.