Date

7-31-2023

Department

School of Behavioral Sciences

Degree

Doctor of Education in Community Care and Counseling (EdD)

Chair

Courtney Evans

Keywords

counseling professional, COVID-19, mental health, pandemic, self-care

Disciplines

Counseling | Social Work

Abstract

COVID-19 took the world by surprise early in 2020, and rapidly became a global threat. While not the first global pandemic declared by the World Health Organization, COVID-19 was different from past pandemics both in the speed of transmission and in the psychosocial impact. Not only did COVID-19 impact the physical health of those who contracted the virus, it also impacted the mental health of the general population. Mental health counselors held a dual role in this pandemic, facing the psychosocial impact themselves while simultaneously providing care for others. Recent studies explored the psychosocial impact on health care professionals and the general population, however, as of the date of this research, none had studied the effect on counseling professionals. Past research has been clear that self-care is related to quality of counselor care, however there is little research on the connection between self-care and counselor mental health and none in the context of a global pandemic. This descriptive, variable-centered correlational research study explored potential connections between counselor self-care, counselor mental health, and counselor experience of trauma-related symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic. Ninety licensed counselors in the United States were surveyed about their experiences. Results showed no significant correlation between counselor self-care and trauma-related symptoms, however, a significant correlation was discovered between counselor self-care and mental health.

Download

Share

COinS