Exploring the Experiences of Compassion Fatigue Amongst Peer Support Workers in Homelessness Services
Bronwyn Leigh Steenekamp1, Stephanie L Barker2
1School of Psychology, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK. bls1n21@soton.ac.uk.
Community Mental Health Journal
|January 29, 2024
Summary
Peer support workers in homelessness services experience compassion fatigue due to client trauma and blame. Developing organizational support and coping strategies is crucial for their well-being and effective service delivery.
Area of Science:
- Mental Health
- Social Work
- Psychology
Background:
- Peer support workers leverage lived experience to aid client recovery.
- Research highlights peer work benefits but overlooks negative consequences like compassion fatigue.
- Compassion fatigue in peer support workers, particularly in homelessness services, requires further investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore compassion fatigue experiences among peer support workers in homelessness services.
- To identify coping strategies employed by these peer support workers.
- To address the gap in understanding the negative impacts of peer support work.
Main Methods:
- An explorative qualitative research design was utilized.
- Six peer support workers in homelessness services were recruited through snowball sampling.
- Data was gathered via semi-structured interviews and analyzed using thematic analysis.
Main Results:
- Five key themes emerged: the demanding nature of homelessness work, the impact of change, deriving meaning from past experiences, organizational support, and personal coping mechanisms.
- Novel findings include the exacerbation of compassion fatigue from multiple clients recounting trauma.
- Peer support workers reported increased compassion fatigue when unfairly blamed for client lack of progress.
Conclusions:
- This study contributes to the limited research on compassion fatigue in peer support workers.
- Findings underscore the need for targeted support systems and protocols within organizations utilizing peer support.
- Developing effective strategies is essential for mitigating compassion fatigue and sustaining peer support services in challenging environments.
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