Transcendent Characteristics as Predictors of Counselor Professional Quality of Life

Although counselors do meaningful work, they can also experience compassion fatigue as a result of counseling clients. Relatively few studies have focused on how counselors' positive characteristics might contribute to their professional quality of life. This study combined the transcendent constructs of gratitude, hope, and daily spiritual experiences as predictors of counselor burnout and compassion satisfaction. Counselors (N = 98) completed a survey assessing professional quality of life and constructs of gratitude, hope, and daily spiritual experiences. After controlling for demographic variables, simultaneous regression analysis revealed that gratitude and daily spiritual experiences were significant negative predictors for burnout. Older counselors were also less likely to have burnout, highlighting questions about what strengths are developed with age. Hope was the only significant predictor of compassion satisfaction. Results suggest that these predictors are differentially related to aspects of professional quality of life and may hold promise as potential protective factors.