52 The Professional Counselor | Volume 12, Issue 1 didn’t intend to” and 80.5% confirming that “I felt emotionally numb” (p. 339). Lakioti et al. (2020) found in a study of 163 Greek mental health practitioners that there was a significant positive correlation between burnout and STS (r = .48) and that practitioners who scored high in empathy also scored high in STS (r = .34). In their meta-analysis of 38 studies examining risk factors for STS in therapeutic work, Hensel et al. (2015) found small yet significant effect sizes for “trauma caseload volume (r = .16), caseload frequency (r = .12), caseload ratio (r = .19), and having a personal trauma history (r = .19)” in relation to STS (p. 83). Research regarding counselors’ own personal trauma is still emerging and a consensus is not yet formed. In a recent study of 90 psychotherapy trainees, Klasen et al. (2019) indicated that secure attachments play a modifying role in limiting the severity of trauma’s expression. McKim and SmithAdcock (2014) evaluated characteristics of trauma counselors to understand how frequent exposure to indirect trauma might influence burnout and CS, as assessed by the Professional Quality of Life Scale (ProQOL; Stamm, 2010). Their results indicated that higher levels of exposure to client trauma, in combination with less perceived control over the workplace, led to increased burnout (McKim & Smith-Adcock, 2014). Consistent with the ACA Code of Ethics (2014), counselors are expected to selfmonitor for impairment issues that could impact clients such as burnout, STS, and the decrease of CS. Compassion Satisfaction CS has been studied nominally and may serve as a protective factor against burnout (Coaston, 2017). Compassion satisfaction is defined as a psychological benefit derived from working effectively with clients to produce meaningful and positive change in their lives (McKim & Smith-Adcock, 2014; Stamm, 2010). McKim and Smith-Adcock (2014) discovered that trauma counselors who experienced higher levels of personal trauma also exhibited higher levels of CS or fulfillment derived from their role in the helping alliance. Although these emergent results contradict older literature that demonstrates how counselors with more personal trauma have higher levels of burnout (Baird & Kracen, 2006; Nelson-Gardell & Harris, 2003), presently, the relationship between CS, burnout, and STS in counselors in relation to ACEs is still unclear. Purpose of Study The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of early developmental adversity as well as early protective factors on the CS, burnout, and STS of MHCs. Despite the ongoing concern for factors that contribute to the CS, burnout, and STS of counselors, there is a dearth of research on personal experiences that may predispose counselors to burnout (Conteh et al., 2017; McKim & Smith-Adcock, 2014). Considering the detrimental effects of burnout on counselors’ health and well-being, as well as the decrease in empathy that often accompanies burnout, it is imperative that we understand the various causes of burnout (Can & Watson, 2019; Cook et al., 2021; Maslach et al., 2001). This knowledge will assist clinical MHCs, supervisors, and counselor educators in knowing which professional counselors or counselors-in-training may be more susceptible to burnout, STS, and decreased CS. Research on ACEs within the counseling profession, as proposed by the original Felitti et al. (1998) study, is scant. Zyromski et al. (2020) discovered in their content analysis of ACA and American School Counselor Association journals that only three articles contained any focus on ACEs as defined in the original study. They suggested that by incorporating such a well-defined and researched concept as ACEs, counselors will be better equipped to address the deleterious effects of early adverse experiences. In order to address the gap within the literature, we chose to focus on the rates of ACEs and PCEs of
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