20.500.12556/RUP-22493 Psychotherapists’ mindful awareness and self-regulation in the prevention of empathic distress Objectives The aims of our research were to explore how psychotherapists recognize and experience empathic distress (ED), investigate their self-regulation strategies used within and outside psychotherapy sessions, and explore the role of mindful awareness during sessions in relation to self-regulation and ED. Methods We employed a qualitative, grounded theory methodology. We conducted interviews with eight Slovenian female integrative psychotherapists. Results Therapists reported experiencing intense emotions and physical reactions during empathic distress (ED), including anxiety, irritability, apathy, self-critique, resistance to work, fatigue, and physical pain. Many described prolonged periods of unrecognized ED. We found that mindful body awareness, a decentered perspective, and co-regulating with the client within therapy sessions were significant self-regulation strategies for therapists. Therapists also emphasized the importance of self-regulation before and after sessions and the value of supervision. Mindfulness, other meditation practices, and social- izing were highlighted as significant out-of-session regulation strategies for the prevention of ED. Conclusions This study highlights the critical need for psychotherapists to have tools for the early recognition of empathic distress. It introduces the Empathic Distress Prevention Model for Psychotherapists, emphasizing the role of mindful body awareness and other self-regulation strategies during therapy sessions, along with self-care outside of therapy. By addressing in-session self-regulation, rarely explored in psychotherapy literature, this study contributes novel insights with applications for therapists’ well-being, practice, education, and supervision. self regulation mindfulness empathic distress well-being decentered perspective psychotherapy samouravnavanje čuječnost empatični distres psihološko blagostanje decentrirana perspektiva psihoterapija true false true Angleški jezik Slovenski jezik Članek v reviji 2026-01-20 14:33:43 2026-01-20 14:33:46 2026-01-21 03:05:29 0000-00-00 00:00:00 2025 0 0 str. 3581-3597 iss. 12 Vol. 16 Dec. 2025 0000-00-00 Zaloznikova NiDoloceno NiDoloceno 0000-00-00 0000-00-00 2025-12-15 159.9:615.851 1868-8535 10.1007/s12671-025-02703-8 262894851 RAZ_Benda_Eva_2025.pdf RAZ_Benda_Eva_2025.pdf 1 ADC482BE6CA5829444B55F6A65E34B5E c8780d759dd8ae392007b8b74660e37589e152a29dbdc6ad53696c5e1e48fd82 c7afd016-f604-11f0-b092-005056ac49c0 https://repozitorij.upr.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=32717 https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12671-025-02703-8 1 a76de6b5-f604-11f0-b092-005056ac49c0 https://repozitorij.upr.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=32716 Fakulteta za matematiko, naravoslovje in informacijske tehnologije 0 0 0