Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-gbm5v Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-22T23:12:03.208Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Stress, resilience and coping in psychological wellbeing practitioner trainees: a mixed-methods study

Part of: Low Intensity CBT

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 August 2022

Joel Owen Open the ORCID record for Joel Owen [Opens in a new window] ,
Solange Cross ,
Vasiliki Mergia  and
Paul Fisher
Joel Owen*
Affiliation:
Department of Clinical Psychology & Psychological Therapies, Norwich Medical School, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK
Solange Cross
Affiliation:
Department of Clinical Psychology & Psychological Therapies, Norwich Medical School, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK
Vasiliki Mergia
Affiliation:
Department of Clinical Psychology & Psychological Therapies, Norwich Medical School, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK
Paul Fisher
Affiliation:
Department of Clinical Psychology & Psychological Therapies, Norwich Medical School, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK
*
*Corresponding author. Email: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

In this study, a convergent parallel mixed-methods design was used to explore stress, resilience and coping in psychological wellbeing practitioner (PWP) trainees (n = 90) at the beginning of their training. Psychometric tests were used to measure levels of self-reported stress, resilience and dispositional coping styles. Open-text survey data regarding the perceived sources of stress at the beginning of training were also qualitatively analysed using thematic analysis (TA). Results indicated that in the early weeks of their training, trainees reported lower levels of resilience and higher levels of stress than those found in the general population. Statistically significant negative correlations were found between stress and resilience, and between stress and the coping styles ‘Planning’, and ‘Active Coping’. Statistically significant positive correlations were found between stress and the coping styles of ‘Denial’ and ‘Focus on and Venting of Emotions’. The qualitative findings provided a context within which to understand these quantitative results. The three themes ‘I can find the unknown quite unsettling’, ‘I question my competences’ and ‘Learning, consolidating and putting it all into practice’ were generated through the qualitative analysis. These themes were connected by an over-arching theme which suggests that the perceived responsibility of the role is an important source of stress for PWP trainees. Implications for future research and the training of PWPs are discussed.

Key learning aims

  1. (1) To establish the levels and perceived sources of stress in trainee PWPs at the beginning of their training.

  2. (2) To identify relationships between stress and resilience, and between stress and styles of coping at the beginning of training.

  3. (3) To use a mixed-methods approach to provide a comprehensive account of stress at the outset of training.

Keywords

copingIAPTmixed-methodsPWPresiliencestresstraining
Type
Original Research
Information
the Cognitive Behaviour Therapist , Volume 15 , 2022 , e38
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Further reading

Owen, J., Crouch-Read, L., Smith, M., & Fisher, P. (2021). Stress and burnout in Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) trainees: a systematic review. the Cognitive Behaviour Therapist, 14, 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1017/s1754470x21000179 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Delgadillo, J., Saxon, D., & Barkham, M. (2018). Associations between therapists’ occupational burnout and their patients’ depression and anxiety treatment outcomes. Depression and Anxiety, 35, 844–850. https://doi.org/10.1002/da.22766 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pakenham, K. I., & Stafford-Brown, J. (2012). Stress in clinical psychology trainees: current research status and future directions. Australian Psychologist, 47, 147–155. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1742-9544.2012.00070.x CrossRefGoogle Scholar

References

Agius, R. M., Blenkin, H., Deary, I. J., Zealley, H. E., & Wood, R. A. (1996). Survey of perceived stress and work demands of consultant doctors. Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 53, 217–224. https://doi.org/10.1136/oem.53.4.217 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Allan, J. F., McKenna, J., & Dominey, S. (2014). Degrees of resilience: profiling psychological resilience and prospective academic achievement in university inductees. British Journal of Guidance and Counselling, 42, 9–25. https://doi.org/10.1080/03069885.2013.793784 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bennett-Levy, J. (2006). Therapist skills: a cognitive model of their acquisition and refinement. Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy, 34, 57–78. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1352465805002420 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bennett-Levy, J., & Beedie, A. (2007). The ups and downs of cognitive therapy training: what happens to trainees’ perception of their competence during a cognitive therapy training course? Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy, 35, 61–75. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1352465806003110 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bhui, K., Dinos, S., Galant-Miecznikowska, M., de Jongh, B., & Stansfeld, S. (2016). Perceptions of work stress causes and effective interventions in employees working in public, private and non-governmental organisations: a qualitative study. BJPsych Bulletin, 40, 318–325. https://doi.org/10.1192/pb.bp.115.050823 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3, 77–101. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brewer, M. L., van Kessel, G., Sanderson, B., Naumann, F., Lane, M., Reubenson, A., & Carter, A. (2019). Resilience in higher education students: a scoping review. Higher Education Research and Development, 38, 1105–1120. https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2019.1626810 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carver, C. S., Scheier, M. F., & Weintraub, K. J. (1989). Assessing coping strategies: a theoretically based approach. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 56, 267–283. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.56.2.267 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cohen, S., Kamarck, T., & Mermelstein, R. (1983). A global measure of perceived stress. Journal of Health and Social Behaviour, 24, 385–396. https://www.jstor.org/stable/2136404%0AJSTOR CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cohen, S., & Williamson, G. M. (1988). Perceived stress in a probability sample of the United States. In Spacapan, S. & Oskamp, S. (eds), The Social Psychology of Health (pp. 21–67). Sage Publications, Inc.Google Scholar
Connor, K. M., & Davidson, J. R. T. (2003). Development of a new Resilience scale: the Connor-Davidson Resilience scale (CD-RISC). Depression and Anxiety, 18, 76–82. https://doi.org/10.1002/da.10113 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Connor, K. M., & Davidson, J. R. T. (2020). Scoring and Interpretation of the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC ©) (pp. 1–3) (unpublished work).Google Scholar
Creswell, J. W., & Plano Clark, V. L. (2011). Designing and conducting mixed methods research. In Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health (2nd edn, vol. 31, issue 4). Sage Publications, Inc.Google Scholar
Cushway, D. (1992). Stress in clinical psychology trainees. British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 31, 169–179. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2044-8260.1992.tb00981.x CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cushway, D. (1997). Stress in trainee psychotherapists. In Varma, V. P. & Varma, V. (eds), Stress in Psychotherapists (1st edn, pp. 18–34). Routelege. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203360163 Google Scholar
Cushway, D., & Tyler, P. (1996). Stress in clinical psychologists. International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 42, 141–149. https://doi.org/10.1177/002076409604200208 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Davidson, J. R. T. (2020). Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC)© Manual (pp. 1–221) (unpublished manual). www.cd-risc.com Google Scholar
Delgadillo, J., Saxon, D., & Barkham, M. (2018). Associations between therapists’ occupational burnout and their patients’ depression and anxiety treatment outcomes. Depression and Anxiety, 35, 844–850. https://doi.org/10.1002/da.22766 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Denovan, A., Dagnall, N., Dhingra, K., & Grogan, S. (2019). Evaluating the Perceived Stress Scale among UK university students: implications for stress measurement and management. Studies in Higher Education, 44, 120–133. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2017.1340445 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Duryee, J., Brymer, M., & Gold, K. (1996). The supervisory needs of neophyte psychotherapy trainees. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 52, 663–671. https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1097-4679(199611)52:6<663::AID-JCLP8>3.0.CO;2-L 3.0.CO;2-L>CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
El-Ghoroury, N. H., Galper, D. I., Sawaqdeh, A., & Bufka, L. F. (2012). Stress, coping, and barriers to wellness among psychology graduate students. Training and Education in Professional Psychology, 6, 122–134. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0028768 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Elman, N. S., & Forrest, L. (2007). From trainee impairment to professional competence problems: seeking new terminology that facilitates effective action. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 38, 501–509. https://doi.org/10.1037/0735-7028.38.5.501 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Farrand, P., Confue, P., Byng, R., & Shaw, S. (2008). Guided self-help supported by paraprofessional mental health workers: an uncontrolled before-after cohort study. Health and Social Care in the Community, 17, 9–17. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2524.2008.00792.x CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Field, A. (2009). Discovering Statistics Using SPSS (3rd edn). Sage.Google Scholar
Hannigan, B., Edwards, D., & Burnard, P. (2004). Stress and stress management in clinical psychology: findings from a systematic review. Journal of Mental Health, 13, 235–245. https://doi.org/10.1080/09638230410001700871 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Howell, D. C. (2010). Statistical Methods for Psychology (7th edn). Cengage Wadsworth.Google Scholar
Klein, E. M., Brähler, E., Dreier, M., Reinecke, L., Müller, K. W., Schmutzer, G., Wölfling, K., & Beutel, M. E. (2016). The German version of the Perceived Stress Scale – psychometric characteristics in a representative German community sample. BMC Psychiatry, 16, 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-016-0875-9 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kunzler, A. M., Helmreich, I., Chmitorz, A., König, J., Binder, H., Wessa, M., & Lieb, K. (2020). Psychological interventions to foster resilience in healthcare professionals. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 7. https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD013684 Google ScholarPubMed
Lee, E.-H. (2012). Review of the psychometric evidence of the Perceived Stress Scale. Asian Nursing Research, 6, 121–127. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anr.2012.08.004 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lekan, D. A., Ward, T. D., & Elliott, A. A. (2018). Resilience in baccalaureate nursing students: an exploration. Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services, 56, 46–55. https://doi.org/10.3928/02793695-20180619-06 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Loprinzi, C. E., Prasad, K., Schroeder, D. R., & Sood, A. (2011). Stress management and resilience training (SMART) program to decrease stress and enhance resilience among breast cancer survivors: a pilot randomized clinical trial. Clinical Breast Cancer, 11, 364–368. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clbc.2011.06.008 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Maslach, C., & Leiter, M. P. (2016). Understanding the burnout experience: recent research and its implications for psychiatry. World Psychiatry, 15, 103–111. https://doi.org/10.1002/wps.20311 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Morrow, S. L. (2005). Quality and trustworthiness in qualitative research in counseling psychology. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 52, 250–260. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0167.52.2.250 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
NHS Benchmarking Network (2022). Health Education England Adult IAPT Workforce Census 2021 (February). https://www.hee.nhs.uk/sites/default/files/documents/HEEAdultIAPTWorkforceCensus2021-February2022%5BPDF%2C2.03MB%5D.pdf Google Scholar
NHS England and Health Education England (2016). 2015 Adult IAPT Workforce Census Report (September). https://www.england.nhs.uk/mentalhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2016/09/adult-iapt-workforce-census-report-15.pdf Google Scholar
Owen, J., Crouch-Read, L., Smith, M., & Fisher, P. (2021). Stress and burnout in Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) trainees: a systematic review. the Cognitive Behaviour Therapist, 14, 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1017/s1754470x21000179 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pakenham, K. I., & Stafford-Brown, J. (2012). Stress in clinical psychology trainees: current research status and future directions. Australian Psychologist, 47, 147–155. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1742-9544.2012.00070.x CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pascoe, M. C., Hetrick, S. E., & Parker, A. G. (2020). The impact of stress on students in secondary school and higher education. International Journal of Adolescence and Youth, 25, 104–112. https://doi.org/10.1080/02673843.2019.1596823 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pereira, J.-A., Barkham, M., Kellett, S., & Saxon, D. (2017). The role of practitioner resilience and mindfulness in effective practice: a practice-based feasibility study. Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research, 44, 691–704. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10488-016-0747-0 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Probst, T., Humer, E., Stippl, P., & Pieh, C. (2020). Being a psychotherapist in times of the novel coronavirus disease: stress-level, job anxiety, and fear of coronavirus disease infection in more than 1,500 psychotherapists in Austria. Frontiers in Psychology, 11. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.559100 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Robertson, I. T., Cooper, C. L., Sarkar, M., & Curran, T. (2015). Resilience training in the workplace from 2003 to 2014: a systematic review. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 88, 533–562. https://doi.org/10.1111/joop.12120 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Salvagioni, D. A. J., Melanda, F. N., Mesas, A. E., González, A. D., Gabani, F. L., & de Andrade, S. M. (2017). Physical, psychological and occupational consequences of job burnout: a systematic review of prospective studies. PLoS One, 12, 1–29. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0185781 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Schmidt, S., Roesler, U., Kusserow, T., & Rau, R. (2014). Uncertainty in the workplace: examining role ambiguity and role conflict, and their link to depression-a meta-analysis. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 23, 91–106. https://doi.org/10.1080/1359432X.2012.711523 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Simionato, G. K., & Simpson, S. (2018). Personal risk factors associated with burnout among psychotherapists: a systematic review of the literature. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 74, 1431–1456. https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.22615 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sood, A., Prasad, K., Schroeder, D., & Varkey, P. (2011). Stress management and resilience training among department of medicine faculty: a pilot randomized clinical trial. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 26, 858–861. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11606-011-1640-x CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Summers, E. M. A., Morris, R. C., Bhutani, G. E., Rao, A. S., & Clarke, J. C. (2020). A survey of psychological practitioner workplace well-being. Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, 28, 438–451. https://doi.org/10.1002/cpp.2509 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Tallentire, V. R., Smith, S. E., Facey, A. D., & Rotstein, L. (2017). Exploring newly qualified doctors’ workplace stressors: an interview study from Australia. BMJ Open, 7, 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2017-015890 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Tugade, M. M., & Fredrickson, B. L. (2004). Resilient individuals use positive emotions to bounce back from negative emotional experiences. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 86, 320–333. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.86.2.320t CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
UCL (2015a). National Curriculum for the Education of Psychological Wellbeing Practitioners, Third Edition (pp. 1–13). University College London. https://www.ucl.ac.uk/pals/sites/pals/files/pwp_review_-_final_report.pdf Google Scholar
UCL (2015b). PWP Best Practice Guide (pp. 1–13). University College London. https://www.ucl.ac.uk/pals/sites/pals/files/pwp_training_review_appendix_8_-_pwp_best_practice_guide.pdf Google Scholar
Walklet, E., & Percy, C. (2014). Stress and coping in IAPT staff: a mixed methods study. Applied Psychological Research Journal, 2, 15–25. https://doi.org/10.18552/aprj.v1i2.146 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Westwood, S., Morison, L., Allt, J., & Holmes, N. (2017). Predictors of emotional exhaustion, disengagement and burnout among improving access to psychological therapies (IAPT) practitioners. Journal of Mental Health, 26, 172–179. https://doi.org/10.1080/09638237.2016.1276540 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Submit a response

Comments

No Comments have been published for this article.