Mental health of professional helpers

Temeljni cilj ovog preglednog rada je dati uvid u područje mentalnog zdravlja profesionalnih pomagača u namjeri da se osvijesti njegova važnost. Kreće se od pretpostavke da se radi o vrlo zanemarenoj, no izuzetno relevantnoj temi. S obzirom na prirodu posla, profesionalni pomagači susreću se s mnogobrojnim izazovnim i stresnim situacijama, koje posljedično mogu negativno utjecati na njihovo mentalno zdravlje. Zaštiti i mjerama očuvanja mentalnog zdravlja profesionalnih pomagača se ne posvećuje dovoljno pažnje što se prepoznaje u nedostatku kvalitetnih i svima dostupnih sustava pomoći koji bi ih pripremili za budući rad tijekom školovanja, te pratili tijekom njihovog profesionalnog rada, pružajući im time kontinuiranu podršku i pomoć. U skladu s prethodno navedenim, tema mentalnog zdravlja profesionalnih pomagača razrađena je u nekoliko temeljnih područja. U prvom dijelu definiraju se pomagačke profesije i pobliže prikazuju rad, uloge i odgovornosti profesionalnih pomagača. Nadalje, iznesene su specifičnosti rada socijalne pedagogije kao pomagačke profesije, te ključne karakteristike dobrog i učinkovitog pomagača. U drugom djelu rada obrađuje se tema mentalnog zdravlja. Pored definicije i prikazanih determinanti, mentalno zdravlje se sagledava kao područje kojim se profesionalni pomagači bave. U okviru ovog dijela, fokus je stavljen na mentalno zdravlje profesionalnih pomagača. U trećem dijelu određuje se pojam stresa i profesionalnog stresa, te prikazuju najčešći uzroci i ishodi profesionalnog stresa u pomagačkim profesijama s posebnim naglaskom na socijalnu pedagogiju. U četvrtom, ujedno i završnom dijelu, pristupa se području zaštite i očuvanja mentalnog zdravlja kod profesionalnih pomagača, gdje su ponuđene uspješne strategije suočavanja s profesionalnim stresom. U sklopu završnog dijela, rad se dotiče uloge koju profesionalni rast, odnosno razvoj kompetencija i iskustva ima na očuvanje mentalnog zdravlja profesionalnih pomagača. Isto tako, spominju se etičke dileme s kojima se profesionalni pomagači u svom radu susreću, te etički kodeks socijalnih pedagoga kao dokument koji predstavlja temelje profesionalnog rada.The aim of this review is to provide an insight into the mental health of professional helpers in order to bring its importance to the fore. This is based on the assumption that this subject is rather neglected, despite its relevance. In their work, professional helpers find themselves in numerous challenging and stressful situations, which, as a consequence, can be detrimental to their mental health. The protection and preserving of the mental health of professional helpers is not being properly taken care of. This is reflected in the lack of help mechanism systems available to everyone, which would prepare professional helpers for their future work during education and monitor them during their professional work, in order to provide them with continuous help and support. Bearing that in mind, the subject of the mental health of professional helpers is explained from a few basic standpoints. The first part of the paper defines helping professions and gives a closer look into the work, roles and responsibilities of professional helpers. Furthermore, the paper describes the specificities of work in the field of social pedagogy as a helping profession, together with the key characteristics of a good and efficient helper. The second part of the paper deals with the subject of mental health. Besides citing the definition and determinants, mental health is analyzed within the field of work of professional helpers. In this part, the focus is on the mental health of professional helpers. The third part defines the notions of stress and professional stress, as well as presenting the most common causes and outcomes of professional stress in helping professions, with the emphasis on social pedagogy. The fourth, and final, part deals with the protection and preserving of the mental health of professional helpers, and offers successful strategies for tackling professional stress. In the final part, the paper analyzes how the professional growth – i.e., the development of competences and experience – affects the protection of the mental health of professional helpers. Moreover, the paper deals with ethical dilemmas in the work of professional helpers and the ethical code of social pedagogues, which represents the fundamental document for their professional work