Pediatric cancer: Psychosocial problems and the high costs of helping

Abstract

While mental health services are important in the treatment of children with cancer, the stresses on providers of such services are intense. Anger, guilt, frustration, and emotional burnout may accompany a sense of helplessness in psychotherapists who treat many children with poor prognoses. Emotional burnout may manifest itself with feelings of malice or aversion toward patients, and may ultimately lead to flight from the work setting. By understanding the dynamics of burnout pressures in the pediatric oncology clinic it is possible to consider a number of preventative actions. Certain personality characteristics and lifestyle attributes may reduce the tendency to burnout. A number of factors linked to the work environment, including treatment team approaches and flexibility in job descriptions may also prove helpful. Emphasis must be placed on retaining a personal emotional equilibrium in order to continue functioning effectively as a psychotherapist in a pediatric cancer setting.

Notes

Remarks prepared for delivery as the 1979 Presidential Address to the Section on Clinical Psychology at the Annual Meeting of the American Psychological Association, New York, New York, September, 1979.