Therapeutic physical intervention and direct care behavioral health providers : a project based upon an investigation of direct care behavioral health providers\u27 experiences of therapeutic interventions

The purpose of this quantitative study was to investigate the relationship among the frequency and perceived emotional intensity of therapeutic physical interventions, social support in the work place, and levels of compassion satisfaction/fatigue, burnout, and secondary traumatic stress. This study explored the experiences of direct care behavioral health providers who work with service users in therapeutic milieus across the country. It was hypothesized that as the frequency and emotional intensity of therapeutic physical interventions increased, levels of compassion fatigue, burnout, and secondary traumatic stress would increase. A negative relationship was hypothesized to occur between social support in the work place and levels of compassion fatigue, burnout, and secondary traumatic stress. Data were collected via an online survey that included four different measures that focused on assessing each variable. Analyzed results revealed a negative relationship between the number of therapeutic physical interventions implemented per week and levels of burnout. A negative relationship was also found between social support in the work place and the frequency of emotional intensity during the implementation of therapeutic physical interventions. Additionally, a negative relationship existed between social support in the work place and levels of burnout. These finding are generally in agreement with previous studies and support the need for agency culture and policies to focus on the mental well-being of their employees