The association between secondary traumatic stress levels and cognitive flexibility levels of counselors and therapists working in mental health area

This study investigates the association between secondary traumatic stress and cognitive flexibility levels of counselors and therapists working in mental health area. The sample consisted of 536 participants, 59 psychiatrists, 254 psychologists, 138 social workers, and 85 child development specialists. The sample involved 430 female and 106 male participants. The data were collected with the Personal Information Form, the Cognitive Control and Flexibility Questionnaire, and the Secondary Traumatic Stress Scale. Independent t-test was used for paired comparisons and one-way Anova test for multiple comparisons. The Tukey test was used as the post hoc test. Pearson correlation analysis was performed to determine the association between the participants' secondary traumatic stress and cognitive flexibility levels. The participants displayed low levels of traumatic stress and slightly above-average levels of cognitive flexibility. According to the demographic data, the participants' ages and secondary traumatic stress levels were significantly negatively associated. Monthly income, educational background, and professional experience had significant and negative associations with secondary traumatic stress. Moreover, older participants had higher cognitive flexibility levels than younger ones. It was observed that sex was associated with cognitive flexibility levels, and males had higher cognitive flexibility levels compared to females. The correlation analysis performed to determine the association between the participants' secondary traumatic stress and cognitive control and flexibility showed a negative and moderate association between the participants' average secondary traumatic stress and cognitive flexibility scores. It is thought that the obtained data will provide insight into the measures that can be taken at individual and institutional level.