Professional stress and mental health of social workers

Socijalni radnici dio su skupine profesionalnih pomagača kod kojih je utvrđeno da je profesionalni stres prisutan pri obavljanju profesije. Stručnjaci unutar profesije socijalnog rada suočavaju se s profesionalnim stresom koji nosi brojne negativne posljedice poput sagorijevanja, posredne traumatizacije, a moguće i druge poteškoće mentalnog zdravlja. Unatoč činjenici da postoji značajan rizik za narušavanje mentalnog zdravlja socijalnih radnika, nažalost ne posvećuje se dovoljno velika pažnja o istome. Nedovoljna osviještenost o važnosti čuvanja mentalnog zdravlja prisutna je i kod samih socijalnih radnika kao i kod organizacija i sustava u kojima se obavlja praksa socijalnog rada. Cilj ovog preglednog rada je prikazati koncepte i definicije mentalnog zdravlja i profesionalnog stresa te predstaviti sustavan prikaz istraživanja i znanstvenih radova o povezanosti profesionalnog stresa i mentalnog zdravlja socijalnih radnika. U radu se govori o načinima kako se može pridonijeti brizi za pozitivno mentalno zdravlje socijalnih radnika. Važno je osvijestiti socijalne radnike o značaju i odgovornosti samostalne brige za vlastito mentalno zdravlje, što se može postići strategijama samopomoći koje mogu uključivati djelotvorno suočavanje s profesionalnim stresom, brigu za opće zdravlje, relaksacijske aktivnosti ili mindfulness, kao i osvijestiti o dužnosti osiguravanja zaštite mentalnog zdravlja istih na razini politika, resornog ministarstva, organizacije, poslodavca ili podizanjem kompetencija.Social workers are groups of professional helpers in whom it has been determined that occupational stress is present in the performance of their practice. Experts within the social work profession face occupational stress which carries a number of negative consequences such as burnout, vicarious traumatization, and possibly other mental health difficulties. Unfortunately, despite the fact that there is a significant risk to the mental health of social workers, not enough attention is paid to it. Insufficient awareness of the importance of mental health care is present among social workers themselves as well as in the organization and systems in which the practice of social work is performed. The aim of this review paper is presented in the concepts and definitions of mental health and occupational stress, which represent a sustainable overview of research and scientific papers on the relationship between occupational stress and mental health of social workers. The paper discusses ways in which care for the positive mental health of social workers can be achieved. It is crucial to make social workers aware of the importance and responsibility of mental health self-care, which can be achieved through self-help strategies that may include dealing effectively with occupational stress, general health care, relaxation activities or care, as well as through understanding the responsibility of ensuring the protection of social workers’ mental health at the level of policies, authorized ministry, organization, employer or by raising competence