Terapeuter ingår i riskgruppen för utvecklandet av psykisk ohälsa. Det finns både risk- och skyddsfaktorer som påverkar compassion fatigue (CF) - empatitrötthet - och sekundär traumatisk stress (STS) hos terapeuter. Forskningen visar att traumaarbete upplevs såväl positivt som negativt. Syftet i föreliggande studie var att beskriva terapeuters upplevelser om CF och STS. Därtill att ta reda på om detta kunde relateras till terapeuten själv och arbetsvillkoren samt vad som tycktes ha betydelse för att undvika CF och STS. En litteraturstudie gjordes där artiklarna analyserades genom kvalitativ innehållsanalys. Resultatet innehåller ett huvudtema; Att arbeta med människors trauma är ett privilegium, samtidigt har det sitt pris och sju subteman. I studien diskuteras CF och STS utifrån att det som terapeut i traumaarbete är oundvikligt att drabbas samt att dessa fenomen behöver vara pratbara. Dessutom framkom källor till resiliens. / Therapists are at risk of developing mental illness. Research shows that working with traumatreatment gives both positive and negative experiences. There are both risk and protective factors that affect Compassion Fatigue (CF) and Secondary Traumatic Stress (STS). The aim of this study was to describe therapists' experiences of CS and STS. Furthermore finding out if they could be related to the therapist in person and working conditions as well as if certain elements were important to avoid CF and STS. A literature study was carried out where articles were analyzed using a qualitative content approach. The result includes a main theme; “Working with people ́s trauma is a privilege, at the same time it has its price” and seven subthemes. CF and STS are thereafter discussed based on the idea of the importance that these phenomena are known and that as a traumatherapist it is inevitable to be affected. In addition sources of resilience emerged.

Background: Compassion-fatigue is a condition which therapists are forced into as a consequence of the nature of their work. The phenomenon has historically, and to some extent currently, been described as secondary trauma, vicarious trauma, secondary traumatic stress and burnout. The goal of this paper is to bring clarity as to what the phenomenon is and how it has been used in research, how common it is, what factors have been identified in the research that increase or decrease risk of developing it and lastly if any attempts have been made to develop a specific approach in preventing and/or treating the condition. Method: This current paper is a scoping review with a systematic approach.12 published studies, quantitative and qualitative in nature, were included and passed for review. Results: The result of the review indicates a deficit in data regarding prevalence of the phenomenon in the population and a general lack of randomized and experimental data. Most of the published studies were exploring psychologist experiences and secondarily attempting to identify factors predicting the development of compassion-fatigue. In conclusion, the phenomenon, regardless of what term is used, seems to be clearly delineated from conditions more akin to exhaustion and depression. Discussion: According to this study compassion-fatigue seems to be a condition that is sparked by the extraneous use of one’s empathic abilities past a tolerable point. Increased exposure by psychologists to work with patients with trauma may increase the risk of developing compassion-fatigue. It is still unknown what the mechanisms are that causes the condition and its prevalence among the population and further research, preferably randomized and experimental with comparison groups, is needed in order for this area to be fully mapped and explained.