Exploration of personality traits and compassion in volunteer mental health workers.
Hello, I鈥檓 Karl, and as well as being a registered counsellor and supervisor, I鈥檓 a PhD student at the University of Derby.
My research is rooted in an essential and compassionate aim: to create an end-user informed compassionate intervention that genuinely supports trainee therapists and volunteer mental health workers in strengthening their 'flows' of compassion鈥攕pecifically, how they relate to compassion from others, towards others, and critically, towards themselves.
This crucial work is borne out of my previous MSc findings. In that study, colleagues highlighted a significant gap in explicit compassion training, often causing them to over-extend themselves, which led directly to painful experiences of empathy fatigue and burnout. Worryingly, a number of trainees shared that they had considered leaving their programmes altogether because of these intense emotional pressures. This underscores the essential need for effective, compassionate support in this field.
How You Can Help Shape This Support
To ensure this intervention is as helpful and well-informed as possible, my first study is exploring the relationship between personality traits and your current relationship with compassion.
Your unique experiences and insights into compassionate expression are incredibly valuable, as they will directly shape the content and feel of the final support programme. By understanding your perspective, I can aim to ensure the intervention meets the real needs of trainee counsellors and volunteer mental health workers.
What Participation Involves
Taking part involves completing an online questionnaire, and we estimate it will take approximately 20 to 30 minutes of your time.
鈥� The survey contains you through a few sections:
鈥� A few short demographic questions to start.
鈥� A section dedicated to exploring your personality traits.
鈥� Finally, we鈥檒l investigate your compassionate relationship with others, how you experience compassion from others, and鈥攎ost importantly鈥攈ow you relate to self-compassion.
There鈥檚 also an option at the end of the survey to register your interest if you'd like to participate in a brief follow-up interview, or to share broader details of your experience.
So if you:
鈥� Are over 18 years old
鈥� Live in the UK
鈥� Have volunteered in UK-based mental health support for at least 6 months
鈥� And have not been diagnosed with a chronic health condition in the last 6 months
Please click on the link below to take part.
If you would like more information or have any questions, please email me.