Self-care practices and mindfulness strategies in relation to vicarious trauma among therapists working with children

This study examines the factors that predict a higher quality of personal and professional life and lower rates of secondary traumatic stress and burnout for therapists who work with children 12 years of age and under. The primary factors explored included level of education, years in counseling, hours per week of working with trauma cases, self-care strategies, and mindfulness. A total of 423 surveys were completed by participants, ranging from age 24 to 80 years of age and predominantly female. All participants held a higher education degree (Masters or Doctorate), and worked clinically with children, many dealing with traumatic material in therapy.;Higher levels of mindfulness and engagement in self-care practices significantly predicted increased compassion satisfaction and lower levels of burnout. There appears to be an interactive relationship between mindfulness and self-care practices suggesting they are powerful when operating in combination. The study also found a significant inverse relationship between mindfulness and secondary traumatic stress, indicating that mindfulness reduces the experience of secondary traumatic stress. Engagement in self-care practices did not significantly contribute to decreasing secondary trauma.;Physical self-care and mindfulness accounted for almost a third of the predictability in physical health, suggesting that when a therapist actively engages in mindfulness and physical self-care, their experience of physical health will be higher. A significant positive relationship was identified with years in practice, mindfulness, and physical self-care in contributing to higher levels of psychological health. Relationship self-care contributed the most unique variance to the prediction of health in social relationships while higher mindfulness also contributed to significantly higher levels of health in social relationships. Lastly, years in practice were predictive of a therapist experiencing a greater level of environmental health. As mindfulness was consistently the most significant predictor of compassion satisfaction, decreased levels of burnout and secondary traumatic stress and increased quality of life, specifically in the areas of physical, psychological, relationships, and environmental health, this research supports the importance of clinicians engaging in the regular practice of mindfulness. Mental health organizations would do well to invest in sharing how powerful mindfulness and self-care are when working in partnership.