TITLE:
Occupational stressors in practicing psychological psychotherapists
AUTHORS:
Katja Petrowski, Aike Hessel, Christiane Eichenberg, Elmar Brähler
KEYWORDS:
Compensation; Health; Job Satisfaction; Job Satisfaction Crisis; Psychotherapists; Stress
JOURNAL NAME:
Health,
Vol.6 No.5,
February
24,
2014
ABSTRACT:
Background: To the present,
there has been no empirical clarification regarding to which extent psychological,
physical, existential, and other stressors present health risks to psychotherapists.
Methods: To identify the work strains of psychotherapists,
German practitioners were interviewed using the model of the job security
crisis. The constructs of this model as well as the occupational stressors and the
individual state of health were measured by questionnaires. Results: In particular,
the results brought light burdensome demands on time and high administrative demands
as well as disappointing financial compensation. More than 25% of the participants
felt that they were “financially burdened and/or very strongly burdened”. Concerning
the proportion of needs (“spending”) and compensation (“reward”), this did not differ
from the full-time employed German population of
the same age group. However, concerning the “Expenditure-Reward-Imbalance”, personal health was subjectively estimated as being worse:
more physical complaints were reported and the health-related quality of life was
lower. However, there were no differences in the number and intensity of physical
complaints between psychotherapists and the general population. Conclusion: In sum,
the demands of administrative processes, the stress due to the considerable temporal
demands, and considerable dissatisfaction with the financial situation stand out
for psychotherapists, in particular. These stresses and strains notwithstanding, psychotherapists do not have a disadvantageous
ratio of stressors to gratifications. The study illustrates the high degree of
discontent practicing psychotherapists feeling about their financial situation.
This fact is important in regard to professional policy and has a direct effect
on the therapeutic process.