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Professional lives and experiences of psychologists change over the course of their careers. Taking a developmental perspective, the present research used archival data from 2 previously conducted surveys to compare early career, midcareer, and late-career psychologists with 3 questions in mind: (a)

In recent years, there has been an increased emphasis on the importance of self-care for psychologists and other mental health professionals. With the growth of positive psychology and preventive medicine, self-care is an emerging topic, promulgated as a means of avoiding the adverse effects of stress and promoting professional functioning and well-being. However, the research on self-care is limited because of the lack of an empirically based, psychometrically sound measure of this construct. Thus, the purpose of this project was to develop a measure of professional self-care. Professional psychologists were the focus of study, with the goal being to develop a measure that can be used in this population and similar groups of professionals. Based on expert feedback and a preliminary study of 422 licensed psychologists in Illinois, a 5-factor, 21-item scale was created. Factor analysis identified the following self-care factors: Professional Support, Professional Development, Life Balance, Cognitive Awareness, and Daily Balance. Preliminary analyses provided initial support for the validity of the 5 factors. A follow-up study was conducted with a second sample of clinical psychologists. The 5-factor structure provided a good fit to the data with the second sample. Thus, based on factor analysis and validity data, a 5-factor, 21-item Professional Self-Care Scale was established for further study and use in future research. (PsycINFO Database Record

Practicing psychologists face many demands that place them at risk for professional burnout. This article provides empirically supported recommendations for reducing or preventing burnout. Drawing from theoretical models of burnout, 4 critical questions are identified: What job demands increase risk for burnout? What job resources decrease risk for burnout? What personal resources decrease risk for burnout? How does home life influence risk for burnout? Findings from empirical studies with psychologists related to each question are summarized and are integrated with conceptual literatures to develop specific recommendations. Consistent with the positive psychology movement and with recent conceptual shifts in the burnout literature, these recommendations encourage a positive, proactive approach that strives to maximize a fit between work demands and personal strengths, to develop resources at work and at home, and to establish a balance between work and personal lives.

Does our work life influence the quality of our family life? The present study examined this question using data from 126 practicing psychologists who responded to two waves of a longitudinal study of their work and family lives. Work-family conflict (WFC) was tested as a mediator between work demands/resources (hours worked, emotional exhaustion, control, support) and family functioning. Results indicated that work demands, but not work resources, significantly predicted family functioning over time. Specifically, more hours worked and greater emotional exhaustion at Time 1 related to poorer family functioning at Time 2. WFC did not mediate these relationships, suggesting that the direct relationship of these work demands to family functioning was stronger than the relationship of WFC to family functioning.

Are psychologists satisfied with their careers? The present study sought to answer this question and to understand factors that relate to high levels of career satisfaction. Data from 595 respondents of a national survey of practicing psychologists indicated that, consistent with past research, psychologists tend to be satisfied with their careers. To investigate factors that predict high levels of satisfaction, two groups of psychologists were identified: a high-satisfaction group (n 129) and a moderate-satisfaction group (n 102). Optimal data analysis (ODA) was then used to identify single variables, as well as combinations of personal and professional factors, that maximized classification accuracy in predicting high versus moderate career satisfaction. Percentage of direct-pay clients, work–life balance strategies, control at work, and reflecting on satisfying work experiences emerged as important predictors. Specific recommendations for practitioners are discussed.

Balancing work and family lives is a challenge faced by many psychologists. The present study examined an integrated model of resources, work–family conflict, family, work, and life satisfaction among professional psychologists. To test this model, a sample of 368 doctoral psychologists who worked at least 20 hours a week and who were married and/or had children were selected from respondents to a national survey on professional and family life. Support was found for three-stage mediational models through which the resources of control and family support exerted cross domain effects and influenced overall life satisfaction. Control at work reduced work to family conflict which increased family satisfaction while family support reduced family to work conflict and increased work satisfaction. Both work and family satisfaction then increased life satisfaction. These models were significant for both men and women. There was, however, evidence that family support was more important in reducing family to work conflict for women.

What factors relate to levels of burnout experienced by male and female psychologists? Five hundred ninety-five psychologists responded to a survey about professional activities, work demands and resources, career-sustaining behaviors, and burnout. Respondents in solo or group independent practice r

How does work setting relate to burnout among professional psychologists? Five hundred and seventy-one doctoral psychologists responded to a survey about professional activities, work environment, and burnout. Solo and group independent practitioners reported a greater sense of personal accomplishment than agency respondents. However, women experienced higher levels of emotional exhaustion in agency settings than in either solo or group independent practice, whereas men experienced higher exhaustion in group independent practice. Overall, greater emotional exhaustion was associated with less control over work activities, working more hours, spending more time on administrative tasks and paperwork, seeing more managed care clients and fewer direct pay clients, and having to deal with more negative client behaviors.

How has managed care impacted the independent practice of psychology? The present article reports on data from 2 national surveys (from 1996 and 2001) that address this question. Both surveys indicated that managed care was a source of stress, with external constraints, paperwork, and managed care reimbursement being the most highly rated stresses. These stresses had not increased in the 5 years between surveys, and the most recent survey suggested that, overall, psychologists did not report high levels of burnout. However, in contrast to respondents with low managed care involvement, respondents with high managed care caseloads worked longer hours, had more client contact, received less supervision, reported more negative client behaviors, experienced more stress, were less satisfied with their incomes, and scored higher on emotional exhaustion. Implications for burnout are discussed.

Psychologists' conceptualizations of intimate partner violence were studied by surveying practicing psychologists on their causal attributions and expectations for violence depicted in a written scenario. The perpetrator of violence was held by respondents to be most responsible for the violence, especially in severely violent cases. Although the victim was seen as less responsible for the violence, greater responsibility was attributed to her, especially to her character, in scenarios in which she had a previous history of being abused by a partner than when she had not. Violence severity had inconsistent effects on psychologists' expectations, in that respondents expected worse outcomes for the victim of more severe violence, but did not expect therapeutic interventions to be any less effective in ameliorating these outcomes. These conceptualizations point to dilemmas in treatment of intimate partner violence, such as empowerment without blame and the tension between hope and realistic assessment of risk.

The present article examines conflicts in the supervisory relationship from the supervisee's perspective. One hundred and fifty-eight graduate students in clinical psychology were surveyed concerning the occurrence, handling, and outcome of conflicts in their supervisory experiences. Thirty-eight percent of the students with supervised experience reported a major conflict with a supervisor, which made it difficult to learn from supervision. Trainees described three areas of conflict—theoretical orientation or therapeutic approach, style of supervision, or personality issues. The degree to which conflicts were discussed and successfully resolved seemed to depend partly on the type of conflict; it was easier to resolve conflicts that centered on style of supervision than on personality issues. When conflicts were not resolved, students often sought support from others, altered their behavior to conceal difficulties, or appeared to comply with the supervisor. The implications of these findings for the learning process in supervision are discussed. One of the most important elements in the training of a psychotherapist is the direct supervision of his or her clinical work. The knowledge acquired through books and classes provides the basis for therapeutic work, but the critical element is the more intensive, personal training provided by experienced supervisors. Supervision is more than simply a didactic experience in which the supervisor teaches the trainee. It is a complex interpersonal interaction subject to the vicissitudes of all human relationships. The importance of these interpersonal or relationship aspects of supervision to the quality of the learning experience has repeatedly been emphasized throughout the supervision literature. For example, Cohen and DeBetz (1977) stated that success in supervision depends on the quality of the relationship between supervisor and trainee, and Fleming and Benedek (1966) stressed the importance of establishing a "learning alliance" with the trainee, which they view as analogous to the therapeutic alliance. Indeed, one study found that trainees' perceptions of the quality of supervision were more strongly related to the interpersonal aspects of the relationship than to the content emphasized by the supervisor (Nash, 1975). A positive supervisory relationship characterized by good rapport, empathy, and respect appears to facilitate the trainee's receptivity to learning from the supervisor. Sources of tension in the, supervisory relationship have been discussed by numerous authors. For the most part, these discussions have highlighted problems that relate to personality dynamics and role definition, for example, personal issues or anxieties of the therapist in training (Fleming & Benedek, 1966; Langs, 1980; Mueller & Kell, 1972), need for dominance on the part of the supervisor (Robiner, 1982), and the dual role of supervisor as teacher and evaluator (Cohen & DeBetz, 1977; Hassenfeld & Sarris, 1978;,Kadushin, 1968; Robiner, 1982; Wolberg, 1977). Wolberg (1977) has also noted th^t conflicts may center around differences in orientation; that is, supervisor and supervisee may differ in theoretical orientation used in case conceptualization and treatment planning, in clinical methods and techniques, in use of terminology, and in the setting of psychotherapeutic goals. Numerous authors have stressed the importance of discussing conflicts in the su