Halamová, J., Ondrejková, N., & Kováč, K. (2022).
Randomized controlled trial of Emotion-focused Training for Helping Professionals. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, Article 1024451. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1024451
Type of Study:
Randomized controlled trial
Number of Participants:
253
Population:
- Age — Not specified
- Race/Ethnicity — 74% Slovak, 20% Czech, 2% Hungarian, 2% Ruthenian, and 2% Serbian
- Gender — Not specified
- Status — Participants were professionals in mental health, education, healthcare, or social work.
Location/Institution:
Not specified
Summary:
(To include basic study design, measures, results, and notable limitations)
The purpose of the study was to examine the short- and long-term effectiveness of the novel Emotion-focused Training for Helping Professionals on levels of compassion fatigue (secondary traumatic stress & burnout), self-criticism, self-compassion, and compassion for others. Participants were randomized to either the experimental group that received treatment or to a non-treatment control group. Measures utilized include the Secondary Traumatic Stress Scale (STSS), Oldenburg Burnout Inventory (OLBI), Forms of Criticizing/Attacking and Self-Reassuring Scale (FSCRS), Sussex-Oxford Compassion for the Self Scale (SOCS-S), and the Sussex-Oxford Compassion for Others Scale (SOCS-O). Results indicate that after completing Emotion-focused Training for Helping Professionals, the experimental group participants reported significantly lower scores for secondary traumatic stress, burnout, and self-criticism, and higher scores for self-compassion and that these lasted for two months after completion. Compared to the control group, the Emotion-focused Training for Helping Professionals group participants had significantly lower scores of secondary traumatic stress, burnout, self-criticism, and higher scores of self-compassion after the intervention. No significant changes were found for the control group, except a significant increase in time in the reported score for one dimension of burnout – exhaustion. Limitations include small sample size, high attrition rate, and social desirability bias.
Length of controlled postintervention follow-up:
2 months
