Emotion-Focused Training for Helping Professionals (EFT-HP)

Any helping professional

Developed in response to the growing need for an effective intervention to help professionals to reduce the increased incidence of compassion fatigue in helping professionals due to the corrosive impacts of pandemic COVID-19, the goal of Emotion-Focused Training for Helping Professionals (EFT-HP) is decreased levels of secondary traumatic stress, burnout or compassion fatigue and increased compassion satisfaction or resilience. EFT-HP is a 14-day online intervention. In summer 2024, there will be an app based on the program available at https://www.self-growth-institute.com/en/self-growth-institute-eng/

Jύlia Halamová, PhD

• Title: Professor
• Agency/Affiliation: Comenius University in Bratislava
• Department: Social and Economic Sciences
• Email: julia.halamova@gmail.com

Publicly available information indicates there is some training available for this program. See contact info.

Manual Information

There is a manual that describes how to deliver this program.

Training Information

There is training available for this program.

“What is included in the Relevant Published, Peer-Reviewed Research section?”

• Halamová, J., Ondrejková, N., & Kováč, K. (2022). Randomized controlled trial of Emotion-focused Training for Helping Professionals. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, Article 1024451. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1024451

  Type of Study: Randomized controlled trial

  Sample:

  Age — Not specified

  Participants: 253

  Race/Ethnicity — 74% Slovak, 20% Czech, 2% Hungarian, 2% Ruthenian, and 2% Serbian

  Gender — Not specified

  Status — Participants were professionals in mental health, education, healthcare, or social work.

  Location/Institution: Not specified

  Summary:

  The purpose of the study was to examine the short- and long-term effectiveness of the novel Emotion-focused Training for Helping Professionals on levels of compassion fatigue (secondary traumatic stress & burnout), self-criticism, self-compassion, and compassion for others. Participants were randomized to either the experimental group that received treatment or to a non-treatment control group. Measures utilized include the Secondary Traumatic Stress Scale (STSS), Oldenburg Burnout Inventory (OLBI), Forms of Criticizing/Attacking and Self-Reassuring Scale (FSCRS), Sussex-Oxford Compassion for the Self Scale (SOCS-S), and the Sussex-Oxford Compassion for Others Scale (SOCS-O). Results indicate that after completing Emotion-focused Training for Helping Professionals, the experimental group participants reported significantly lower scores for secondary traumatic stress, burnout, and self-criticism, and higher scores for self-compassion and that these lasted for two months after completion. Compared to the control group, the Emotion-focused Training for Helping Professionals group participants had significantly lower scores of secondary traumatic stress, burnout, self-criticism, and higher scores of self-compassion after the intervention. No significant changes were found for the control group, except a significant increase in time in the reported score for one dimension of burnout – exhaustion. Limitations include small sample size, high attrition rate, and social desirability bias.

  Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: 2 months

• Halamová, J., Kanovský, M., Greškovičová, K., Krizova, K., & Šoková, B. (2025). Assessing the effectiveness of emotion‐focused online intervention in mitigating compassion fatigue and enhancing compassion satisfaction among helping professionals. Applied Psychology: Health and Well‐Being, 17(2), e70032. https://doi.org/10.1111/aphw.70032

  Type of Study: Randomized controlled trial

  Sample:

  Age — Mean=41.79 years

  Participants: 370

  Race/Ethnicity — Not specified

  Gender — 312 Female and 58 Male

  Status — Participants were individuals from professional organizations guiding helpers from various helping professions.

  Location/Institution: Not specified

  Summary:

  The purpose of the study was to assess the effectiveness of a newly developed Emotion-Focused Training for Helping Professions (EFT-HP) in addressing levels of compassion fatigue, compassion satisfaction, and self-criticism, both in the short and long term. Participants were randomized to either the EFT-HP group or to a wait-list control group. Measures utilized include the Forms of Self-Criticizing/Attacking & Self-Reassuring Scale (FSCRS) and the Compassion Satisfaction and Compassion Fatigue Scale (CSCFS). Results indicate that there were significant group-by-time interactions for the FSCRS and the CSCFS. Specifically, participants in the EFT-HP group exhibited a notable reduction in self-criticism and a notable increase in self-compassion and compassion satisfaction over time. The participants’ scores of compassion fatigue decreased in both intervention as well as control groups; therefore, the group-by-time interaction was not significant. Limitations include a sole reliance on self-rating outcome measures, and the analysis included only complete cases, which may have introduced selection bias and reduced the generalizability of the findings.

  Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: 2 months.

There are currently no references available for Emotion-Focused Training for Helping Professionals.