More and more people suffer from mental illness and have to leave their professional life prematurely. This is especially true for social workers, who are exposed to multiple stresses in their daily work. Psychohygienic measures can counteract stress and strain and prevent mental illness.
What are the causes of mental stress? What are the health consequences of mental stress? And how can social workers concretely protect themselves from stress and strain?
The author Nicole Scherm gives an overview of the possible causes of mental stress among social workers. Based on this, she presents various coping strategies and tests their effectiveness. She also derives concrete recommendations for action to prevent mental stress.
From the contents:
- Social work
- Stress perception
- Burnout
- Depression
- Stress management measures
Table of contents
1 Introduction
1.1 Problem definition and relevance for social work
1.2 Structure of the paper
2 Part I: Theoretical foundations of psychohygiene
2.1 definition
2.2 Origin of the term
2.3 History of Psychohygiene
2.4 Psychohygiene in the Context of Racial Hygiene in the Third Reich
2.5 Social professions with a particular risk of high psychological stress
2.6 Possible causes of psychological stress on social workers
2.7 Psychohygiene measures for the prevention of psychological stress
2.8 Possible consequences of non-use of psychohygienic measures
2.9 Interim conclusion
3 Part II: Empirical study on the spread of occupational overload and offers to protect against overload
3.1 Interest in knowledge and question
3.2 Justification of the choice of research method
3.3 performance
3.4 Survey
3.5 Evaluation and interpretation
4 Conclusion and discussion
5 Recommendations
Objectives and Topics
This work aims to analyze the prevalence of psychological stress among social workers and to examine the efficacy of various psychohygienic measures. The central research question explores how professional helpers can protect themselves from psychological distress and maintain their health while effectively managing the demands of their everyday professional life.
- Theoretical foundations of psychohygiene and its historical development.
- Identification of occupational stressors in the social work sector.
- Analysis of burnout, depression, and addiction risks in social professions.
- Evaluation of stress management interventions such as supervision and coaching.
- Empirical study on current stress levels and support offers in social institutions.
Auszug aus dem Buch
2.6.1 The "helper syndrome"
The so-called helper syndrome is not an empirically proven and medically or psychologically recognized symptom group, but rather a model or a theory that tries to describe and explain the mental problems that occur more frequently in social professions. It is therefore not to be found in any classification system. The term goes back to the German psychoanalyst Wolfgang Schmidbauer, who used it for the first time in 1977 in his book Die hilflosen Helfer, which is still relevant today and is constantly being reprinted.
The model assumes a certain personality structure that makes a person susceptible to helper syndrome. First and foremost, this includes a low self-confidence, which leads to the fact that the person concerned uses all his attention and energy to fulfill a helper role and to be absolutely needed; helping thus serves to suppress one's own problems (Schmidbauer 2013b, page 19 f.). There is a behavior that has the symptoms of addiction; the client is abused as an "addictive substance" (ibid., page 58). The cause of this is considered to be unresolved conflicts in childhood, which led to low self-confidence and self-esteem and were thus carried into adulthood (Schmidbauer 2013a, page 57). By being used, the self-esteem is not really increased, but the person concerned perceives it as self-affirmation and thus acquires an "artificial" self-esteem. Since behaviors such as the deferral of one's own person in favor of others (especially in favor of family members), caring, protecting and passive, indirect expression of aggression generally correspond to the classic female understanding of roles of bourgeois social classes, the helper syndrome is far less obvious in women than in men (ibid., page 204).
Summary of Chapters
1 Introduction: Defines the problem of occupational stress in social work and outlines the structure of the paper.
2 Part I: Theoretical foundations of psychohygiene: Discusses definitions, history, and causes of psychological stress, including the helper syndrome and powerlessness, while exploring prevention measures.
3 Part II: Empirical study on the spread of occupational overload and offers to protect against overload: Presents an empirical survey on stress levels and the availability of support measures among social workers in Germany.
4 Conclusion and discussion: Synthesizes the findings, emphasizing the necessity of psychohygiene and the limitations of current research.
5 Recommendations: Provides actionable advice for social workers and institutions to improve mental health and professional support structures.
Keywords
Psychohygiene, Social Work, Occupational Stress, Burnout, Depression, Helper Syndrome, Supervision, Coaching, Self-care, Resilience, Mental Health, Stress Prevention, Workplace Health, Salutogenesis, Empirical Study.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary focus of this work?
The paper explores the concept of psychohygiene as a means for social workers to protect their mental health and prevent the negative consequences of occupational stress.
Which stressors are particularly relevant for social workers?
Key stressors include the "helper syndrome," feelings of powerlessness, an imbalance of proximity and distance to clients, and the lack of professional appreciation.
What is the goal of this research?
The goal is to determine the extent of psychological stress among social workers and to analyze the effectiveness of support structures like supervision and coaching.
Which research method was employed?
The author conducted a quantitative online survey to collect data on occupational stress perception and the utilization of psychohygienic measures among social workers.
What does the main body address?
The main body covers theoretical foundations—including definitions of psychohygiene, historical context, and causes of burnout and depression—followed by an empirical study evaluating these theoretical insights.
Which keywords best characterize this work?
The work is characterized by terms such as Psychohygiene, Social Work, Burnout, Resilience, and Supervision.
How does the "helper syndrome" affect social workers?
It can lead to an unhealthy dependency on the helper role, often resulting in burnout as the worker ignores their own needs to address those of their clients.
What role does the sense of coherence play in this context?
A strong sense of coherence serves as a protective factor, helping individuals master life's demands and significantly reducing the risk of developing mental illness.
- Quote paper
- Nicole Scherm (Author), 2020, Mental hygiene in social work. Methods for the prevention of mental illness, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/1187305
