What is it about?
Emotional labor is an important contributing factor to an individual's well-being in the workplace but has not been qualitatively explored in the occupational group of psychologists who provide psychotherapy. We used thematic analysis of interviews with psychologists to identify common themes regarding the perceived effects of emotional labor in this occupational group. We found evidence for positive, negative and neutral effects.
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Why is it important?
Our findings suggest that emotional labor is an important variable that can contribute to the well-being of psychologists who provide psychotherapy. These findings also indicate that future research and well-being interventions regarding this occupational group should consider the possible contributing effects of emotional labor.
Perspectives
On behalf of the research team and I, writing and publishing this article was a pleasure. I hope that this article starts a conversation about emotional labor and sparks interest and reflection on its potential effects for psychologists. I hope the article is of interest to psychologists everywhere and is a timely reminder to continue to practice self-care and career-sustaining behaviors in what can be emotionally challenging work.
James Clarke
Curtin University
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: The perceived effects of emotional labor in psychologists providing individual psychotherapy., Psychotherapy, September 2021, American Psychological Association (APA),
DOI: 10.1037/pst0000351.
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