2026 ECNP Congress

PS04-4255

The role of lived experience background in coping and compassion fatigue among mental health professionals

Yağmur Aksuna — S. Balaç, I. Bakirli, D. Ceylan · Koç University, School of Medicine, Istanbul, Türkiye

2026 ECNP Congress

Introduction: Lived experience, whether personal or through a family member, can shape how professionals respond to the demands of clinical work. While it may strengthen empathy and resilience, it can also increase vulnerability to stress, burnout, and compassion fatigue. Evidence indicates a particular link with elevated stress in trauma-focused settings.

Objectives: This study aimed to examine the relationship between burnout, secondary traumatic stress, and coping strategies among mental health professionals, and to compare these outcomes based on type of lived experience (personal or through a relative).

Methods: This cross-sectional survey study was conducted online using Qualtrics. Participants were mental healthcare workers, including psychiatrists, psychiatric nurses, psychologists, neuroscience researchers, and medical students. They completed a sociodemographic form, the Turkish versions of the Maslach Burnout Scale (MBS), the Secondary Traumatic Stress Scale (STSS), and the Coping with Stress Scale (CSS), and indicated whether their lived experience. Statistical analyses were conducted using IBM SPSS Statistics (version 28.0). Demographics were summarized descriptively; normality tested (Shapiro–Wilk); correlations with age/experience examined(Pearson/Spearman); and group differences tested with t-tests. Experience of mental health conditions was personal or through a relative.

Results: Thirty-five professionals participated (33 women, 2 men; M age = 33.18 ± 8.38 years; professional experience =8.34 ± 8.30 years), with 10 (28.6%) reporting a personal history of mental health conditions and 23 (65.7%) reporting lived experience through a relative. Independent samples t-tests showed no group differences in MBS or STSS, butparticipants with a personal history scored higher on CSS submissive coping (M = 15.40 ± 4.12) than those with relativebasedexperience (M = 11.35 ± 3.77), t(32) = 2.38, p = .024, d = 0.89, 95% CI [0.11, 1.62]; no other CSS subscalesdiffered (all p > .40). Correlations indicated that age was negatively associated with CSS helpless coping (r = −.57, p <.001), CSS avoidance (r = −.37, p = .031), and CSS total coping (ρ = −.40, p = .021), and professional experience waslikewise negatively related to helpless coping (r = −.51, p = .002) and total coping (ρ = −.38, p = .026). No associations were found between demographics and MBS or STSS.

Conclusions: These findings suggest that different forms of lived experience may be linked to distinct coping patterns among mental health professionals. Individuals with personal lived experience reported greater use of social support seeking, while submissive coping showed only a non-significant trend and should be interpreted with caution. Those with lived experience through a close relative tended to report higher levels of self-confident and optimistic coping, although these differences were not statistically significant. Overall, lived experience appears to relate more closely to coping styles than to burnout or secondary traumatic stress. However, given the small sample size, these findings should be considered preliminary and require replication in larger samples.

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