Our Well-Being Matters,Too: Cultivating Resilience and Self-Care in Pediatric Psychologists

Abstract

Objective: While research on burnout and resilience in medical providers is growing, rigorous attention to mental health providers, and specifically pediatric psychologists, is needed. Given the scarcity of research in this area and the deleterious outcomes associated with provider burnout and fatigue, it is imperative to explore pediatric psychologists’ well-being and identify supports to promote resilience. This topical review seeks to summarize the literature on health care provider burnout and resilience and highlight promising interventions that may guide efforts to better understand and facilitate resilience in pediatric psychologists. Method: A literature review was conducted on health care provider burnout, resilience, and supports/interventions, with a focus on the experiences of pediatric psychologists. Results: Inconsistency in operationalization impacted rates and correlates of mental health provider burnout; only a few studies specifically investigated related concerns in pediatric psychologists. Protective factors such as religiosity and spirituality as well as interventions including meaning-making, narrative medicine, and organizational-level supports appear promising in boosting pediatric psychologists’ resilience. Conclusions: Health care providers are at high risk for burnout, yet the prevalence and correlates of emotional well-being in pediatric psychologists are understudied. Thus, our understanding of risk and protective factors that could inform effective structures and interventions to support self-care and resilience in this profession is limited. We highlight opportunities for advancing research, including the use of theory-driven, mixed-methods approaches, to increase awareness, decrease stigma, and inform intervention development.

Implications for Impact Statement

Burnout is a critical issue among health care providers. Unfortunately, research on burnout and emotional well-being in pediatric psychologists is limited. Thus, targeted research is needed given the distinct challenges pediatric psychologists face in terms of caring for patients, families, and colleagues; supporting trainees; and engaging in research and advocacy, all the while attending to their own self-care. Potential protective factors and interventions focusing on religiosity/spirituality, narrative medicine, meaning-making, and organizational-level supports appear promising in boosting pediatric psychologists’ resilience.