Unveiling compassion fatigue: a profiling study among mental health counselors in private practice settings

The breathless development of Chinese society has increased the demand for mental health services. Private practice mental health counselors are vulnerable to compassion fatigue, which can affect their personal well-being and the quality of services they provide. However, there is a notable scarcity of research focusing on compassion fatigue among this group. This study aimed to contribute to the field by providing a comprehensive profile of private practice mental health counselors in China, offering the first assessment of their compassion fatigue level, and examining the specific impact of characteristic variables on this phenomenon. A total of 109 counselors completed the Compassion Fatigue Short-Scale (CFSS) and a demographic characteristic form. The findings revealed a counseling group with limited maturity and professionalism, primarily holding bachelor’s degrees, working part-time, and having limited experience in practice and supervision. The levels of compassion fatigue were found to be moderate to mild, with educational level and years of practice serving as negative predictors. The findings would enhance the understanding of the profile of private practice counselors in China, supporting the development of interventions to address compassion fatigue for local practice.