The fact that psychologists may not realize how much their own diagnosable emotional problems can impact their practices led to the undertaking of an exploratory survey of practicing psychologists in order to assess that notion. The results of a random sample of 1,000 psychologists indicate that women were more frequent respondents than men by a ratio of 3 to 2 and that depression (dysthymia) was the most frequently acknowledged diagnosis. Respondents felt that their emotional issues gave them more empathy for their clients; however, they also experienced an increased sense of isolation from their colleagues and lessened energy and ability to concentrate in their relationships with their clients. Recommendations are offered for self-care practices for psychologists.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.