The Relationships Between the Flows of Compassion and Job-Related Affective Wellbeing in Helpline Volunteers

Briones, Julieanne and Kelly, James and Twist, Laura (2022) The Relationships Between the Flows of Compassion and Job-Related Affective Wellbeing in Helpline Volunteers. PhD thesis, Lancaster University.

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Abstract

This thesis contains four sections including a systematic literature review, an empirical research paper, a critical appraisal, and the ethics application section. Section one reports a qualitative systematic literature review exploring the experience of Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT) for individuals with mental health difficulties. Six papers were included in the review and were synthesised using a meta-ethnographic approach to produce six themes and two subthemes. The findings highlighted processes of CFT which individuals reported as fundamental in their therapeutic experience. The review identified a need for further qualitative research that focused on the experience of CFT within clinical populations. Section two reports an empirical research examining the extent to which the three flows of compassion (compassion to others, compassion received from others and self-compassion) predicted job-related affective wellbeing (affective wellbeing hereafter), when controlling for other demographic variables. Active helpline volunteers providing emotional and wellbeing support were invited to take part in a survey online. Data were then analysed using correlational analyses and multiple hierarchical regression. The findings indicated that self-compassion and compassion for others were significantly and positively correlated with affective wellbeing. In the regression model, the flows of compassion accounted for a significant amount of variance (21.6%) in affective wellbeing when age, gender and length of time volunteering had been taken into account. The findings indicted self-compassion and compassion for others as important factors in determining affective wellbeing in helpline volunteers. Section three provides a critical appraisal. This includes an overview of both papers, highlighting some of the key challenges and decisions, and personal reflections. The last section includes the ethical proposal along with supporting documents utilised in the ethical application process.