Psychiatrists' mental health and coping strategies: Does the shoemaker's son always go barefoot?

OBJECTIVES

It would be prudent to consider the mental health of psychiatrists, who are entrusted with the responsibility of caring for our mental well-being. This study aimed to examine psychiatrists' mental health and coping strategies.

METHODS

The study was conducted among 217 psychiatry residents and specialists in Turkey. Data was collected via online test programs. The participants were given a Sociodemographic Form, the Brief COPE inventory, the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 Scale (GAD-7), and the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9).

RESULTS

The psychiatrists exhibited symptoms of poor mental health, with 35.5 % reporting anxiety and 12.4 % reporting depression. A statistically significant relationship was identified between burnout and depression and anxiety in the participants (p < 0.001, p < 0.001, respectively). A positive significant relationship was found between depression and emotion-focused coping style (R = 0.15, p = 0.025). Other statistically significant positive relationships were found between depression, anxiety and dysfunctional coping styles (R = 0.35, p < 0.001, R = 0.31, p < 0.001, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS

Psychiatrists should not neglect their mental health and that of their colleagues for the mental health of the community and should develop more functional coping strategies to deal with problems to carry the empathic burden of their profession.