The psychological literature consistently finds strong associationsbetween self-compassion, difficulties in emotion regulation, and occupational burnout, especially in populations with high amountsof occupational stress. In healthcare, clinician health and performance are implicated by these variables. Downstream effects are also detected, where increasing clinician burnout diminishestreatment efficacy. This reduced efficacy compounds on pre-existing issues of the treatment community, and generates additional barriers to achieving stability and health. This effect has been indirectly implicated in the Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health (IECMH) workforce, which includes professionals who engage and serve children and families, many of whom have high psychosocial risk. One way that the IECMH field has worked to address this pathway, is through the provision of RS/C (Reflective Supervision and Consultation). A key tenet of the IECMH practice, RS/C is designed to curb off the negative psychological aftermath ofoccupational stress. However, RS/C is largely unstudied, and requires additional evidence to gain traction as an intervention forhigh-stress occupations. As such, this study explored how RS/C interacts with self-compassion, difficulties in emotion regulation, and burnout in a population of IECMH professionals. Interest in protective factors led to test whether RS/C amplifies the protective capacity of self-compassion in the context of burnout (model 1), and whether of RS/C acts as a protective factor in the context of difficulties in emotion regulation and burnout (model 2). 141 clinicians who work in the IECMH field completed self-report measures of self-compassion, difficulties in emotion regulation, and occupational burnout, in the summer of 2020. Bivariate correlation indicated significant relationships between self-compassion and difficulties in emotion regulation (r = -.71, p < .01), self-compassion and burnout (r = -.57, p < .01), and difficulties in emotion regulation and burnout (r = .66, p < .01). Two simple moderation models were tested using Hayes’ PROCESS macro to determine if the relationships between X (self-compassion, in model 1, and difficulties in emotion regulation, in model 2) and Y (occupational burnout, in both models) were influenced by the presence of W (RS/C, in both models). Model 1 was not significant. For Model 2, the overall model was significant F(3, 93) = 27.51, R2 = .35, p < .001 and the interaction term was also significant (R2 change = .03, p = .02). Specifically, the relationship between X and Y remained significant across all levels of RS/C, and the strength of the relationship between X and Y was weakest when engagement in RS/C was highest, and strongest when engagement in RS/C was lowest. These results suggest that the reflective and supportive nature of RS/C may hold promising implications for protecting workforces from burnout via emotion regulation difficulties in high stress contexts.

The present study examined the relationships between COVID-related stress, mental health and professional burnout in the infant and early child mental health (IECMH) workforce and examined reflective supervision and consultation (RSC) as a potential protective factor in the context of COVID-related stress. Participants included 123 adults (n = 121 female, modal age range 30-39 years) in the TN IECMH workforce (mean years of experience = 13.6 years) surveyed in June/July 2020. Sector representation was quite varied (home visiting, childcare, child welfare, early intervention). Results indicated the majority (63%) of the sample was caring for someone else (e.g., child or elderly person) while working at home, 46% of the sample had depression symptoms (18% in the moderate-severe range), and 75% of the sample had anxiety symptoms (33% in the moderate-severe range). Higher COVID stress was associated with higher internalizing symptoms and burnout levels and this relationship was mediated by self-care behaviors such that the more COVID stress one reported, the fewer self-care behaviors they engaged in, and the higher the risk for internalizing and burnout. Finally, the pathway from COVID stress to self-care behaviors was moderated by RSC. IECMH professionals who received less than 1 year (or no experience) of RSC showed a significant decrease in self-care behaviors during times of low, average and high levels of COVID stress compared to those who received 1 year or more of RSC. Implications for both policy and practice will be discussed.