One step ahead: Minimizing clinician burnout via a supportive and reflective supervision model

Authors' Affiliations

Thomas Boyer, Department of Psychology, College of Arts and Sciences, East Tennessee State University Hannah Winston, Department of Psychology, College of Arts and Sciences, East Tennessee State University Jessica Potter-Rodriguez, Department of Psychology, College of Arts and Sciences, East Tennessee State University Diana Morelen, Ph.D., IMH-E, Department of Psychology, College of Arts and Sciences, East Tennessee State University

Location

Culp Center Ballroom

Start Date

4-25-2023 9:00 AM

End Date

4-25-2023 11:00 AM

Poster Number

149

Faculty Sponsor’s Department

Psychology

Name of Project's Faculty Sponsor

Diana Morelen

Classification of First Author

Undergraduate Student

Competition Type

Competitive

Type

Poster Presentation

Project's Category

Social Sciences, Psychology

Abstract or Artist's Statement

The psychological literature consistently finds strong associationsbetween self-compassion, difficulties in emotion regulation, and occupational burnout, especially in populations with high amountsof occupational stress. In healthcare, clinician health and performance are implicated by these variables. Downstream effects are also detected, where increasing clinician burnout diminishestreatment efficacy. This reduced efficacy compounds on pre-existing issues of the treatment community, and generates additional barriers to achieving stability and health. This effect has been indirectly implicated in the Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health (IECMH) workforce, which includes professionals who engage and serve children and families, many of whom have high psychosocial risk. One way that the IECMH field has worked to address this pathway, is through the provision of RS/C (Reflective Supervision and Consultation). A key tenet of the IECMH practice, RS/C is designed to curb off the negative psychological aftermath ofoccupational stress. However, RS/C is largely unstudied, and requires additional evidence to gain traction as an intervention forhigh-stress occupations. As such, this study explored how RS/C interacts with self-compassion, difficulties in emotion regulation, and burnout in a population of IECMH professionals. Interest in protective factors led to test whether RS/C amplifies the protective capacity of self-compassion in the context of burnout (model 1), and whether of RS/C acts as a protective factor in the context of difficulties in emotion regulation and burnout (model 2). 141 clinicians who work in the IECMH field completed self-report measures of self-compassion, difficulties in emotion regulation, and occupational burnout, in the summer of 2020. Bivariate correlation indicated significant relationships between self-compassion and difficulties in emotion regulation (r = -.71, p < .01), self-compassion and burnout (r = -.57, p < .01), and difficulties in emotion regulation and burnout (r = .66, p < .01). Two simple moderation models were tested using Hayes’ PROCESS macro to determine if the relationships between X (self-compassion, in model 1, and difficulties in emotion regulation, in model 2) and Y (occupational burnout, in both models) were influenced by the presence of W (RS/C, in both models). Model 1 was not significant. For Model 2, the overall model was significant F(3, 93) = 27.51, R2 = .35, p < .001 and the interaction term was also significant (R2 change = .03, p = .02). Specifically, the relationship between X and Y remained significant across all levels of RS/C, and the strength of the relationship between X and Y was weakest when engagement in RS/C was highest, and strongest when engagement in RS/C was lowest. These results suggest that the reflective and supportive nature of RS/C may hold promising implications for protecting workforces from burnout via emotion regulation difficulties in high stress contexts.

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Apr 25th, 9:00 AM Apr 25th, 11:00 AM

One step ahead: Minimizing clinician burnout via a supportive and reflective supervision model

Culp Center Ballroom

The psychological literature consistently finds strong associationsbetween self-compassion, difficulties in emotion regulation, and occupational burnout, especially in populations with high amountsof occupational stress. In healthcare, clinician health and performance are implicated by these variables. Downstream effects are also detected, where increasing clinician burnout diminishestreatment efficacy. This reduced efficacy compounds on pre-existing issues of the treatment community, and generates additional barriers to achieving stability and health. This effect has been indirectly implicated in the Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health (IECMH) workforce, which includes professionals who engage and serve children and families, many of whom have high psychosocial risk. One way that the IECMH field has worked to address this pathway, is through the provision of RS/C (Reflective Supervision and Consultation). A key tenet of the IECMH practice, RS/C is designed to curb off the negative psychological aftermath ofoccupational stress. However, RS/C is largely unstudied, and requires additional evidence to gain traction as an intervention forhigh-stress occupations. As such, this study explored how RS/C interacts with self-compassion, difficulties in emotion regulation, and burnout in a population of IECMH professionals. Interest in protective factors led to test whether RS/C amplifies the protective capacity of self-compassion in the context of burnout (model 1), and whether of RS/C acts as a protective factor in the context of difficulties in emotion regulation and burnout (model 2). 141 clinicians who work in the IECMH field completed self-report measures of self-compassion, difficulties in emotion regulation, and occupational burnout, in the summer of 2020. Bivariate correlation indicated significant relationships between self-compassion and difficulties in emotion regulation (r = -.71, p < .01), self-compassion and burnout (r = -.57, p < .01), and difficulties in emotion regulation and burnout (r = .66, p < .01). Two simple moderation models were tested using Hayes’ PROCESS macro to determine if the relationships between X (self-compassion, in model 1, and difficulties in emotion regulation, in model 2) and Y (occupational burnout, in both models) were influenced by the presence of W (RS/C, in both models). Model 1 was not significant. For Model 2, the overall model was significant F(3, 93) = 27.51, R2 = .35, p < .001 and the interaction term was also significant (R2 change = .03, p = .02). Specifically, the relationship between X and Y remained significant across all levels of RS/C, and the strength of the relationship between X and Y was weakest when engagement in RS/C was highest, and strongest when engagement in RS/C was lowest. These results suggest that the reflective and supportive nature of RS/C may hold promising implications for protecting workforces from burnout via emotion regulation difficulties in high stress contexts.