17111 An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis of the Lived Experiences of Malaysian Clinical Psychologists with Compassion Fatigue

R3a-3

Abstract

            The detrimental effects of compassion fatigue (CF) should not be taken lightly for it affect the professionals’ wellbeing and their professional conduct. Although the adversities of CF were observed among professions involving compassion and empathy in its practice, the body of literature still has room to improve especially with the lack of literature elucidate on the subjective experiences of CF e.g., the experience and management of CF among Malaysian clinical psychologists. The limited objective findings of CF and varying practices of compassion across cultures highlight the need for qualitative studies. The main objective is to gain understanding on Malaysian clinical psychologists experiences of CF. The current study utilized a phenomenological qualitative research design and recruited four Malaysian clinical psychologists using a purposive sampling method. A set of questions was asked and Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) was employed for data analysis which derived four superordinate themes i.e., On Holding Space, Knowing Where Self Ends, Experiential Learning for Professional Growth, and Human Before Helper. The study significance includes insights on CF experienced by Malaysian clinical psychologists and it is hoped this will encourage policy makers to raise awareness on CF, conduct prevention and intervention CF programs, develop regular assessment, and further affirm and expand Figley’s compassion stress and fatigue model.