Weathering the Storm: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis of How Counselors’ Personal Pandemic Coping Strategies Shaped Perceived Professional Efficacy in Lao PDR.
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.54536/ijphn.v2i1.6780Keywords:
Burnout, Coping Strategies, Counselo Training, COVID-19, Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), Lao PDR, Low-Resource Settings, Mental Health Professionals, Mental Health Systems, Professional Efficacy, Qualitative Research, Resilience, Thematic AnalysisAbstract
Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic created unprecedented global stress, imposing a dual burden on mental health professionals who navigated personal crises while delivering care. In low-resource settings such as Lao PDR—where systemic support is limited—understanding how counselors’ personal coping strategies influenced their professional resilience and perceived efficacy is critical.
Methods: This qualitative study employed Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) to explore lived experiences through in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 70 counselors in Laos, including psychologists, social workers, and community-based providers. Thematic analysis identified correlations between personal coping mechanisms and self-reported professional efficacy.
Results: Three superordinate themes emerged: (1) The Double-Edged Sword of Empathy, reflecting emotional exhaustion and burnout; (2) Forging Resilience through Adaptive Coping, linking mindfulness, positive reframing, and social support to enhanced efficacy, self-awareness, and compassion satisfaction; and (3) The Efficacy Drain of Maladaptive Coping, associating venting, substance use, and self-blame with diminished confidence, depersonalization, and impaired therapeutic alliances.
Conclusion: Counselors’ personal coping strategies are fundamentally intertwined with their professional functioning. In resource-constrained contexts like Laos, culturally embedded, community-based resilience is essential. Findings advocate for institutional support, culturally integrated training, and formalized peer networks to sustain the mental health workforce. This study informs counselor training, supervision, and mental health policy, especially in developing nations facing systemic healthcare challenges.
References
Bennett, A. A., Campion, E. D., Keeler, K. R., & Keener, S. K. (2022). Videoconference fatigue? Exploring changes in work fatigue and distress after videoconference meetings during COVID-19. Journal of Applied Psychology, 107(7), 1205–1225. https://doi.org/10.1037/apl0001049
Carver, C. S. (1997). You want to measure coping but your protocol’s too long: Consider the brief COPE. International Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 4(1), 92–100. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327558ijbm0401_6
Charlson, F., Diminic, S., Lund, C., Degenhardt, L., & Whiteford, H. A. (2017). The burden of mental, neurological and substance use disorders in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic: A modelling study. BMJ Global Health, 2(2), e000262. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjgh-2016-000262
Chutiyami, M., Cheong, A. M. Y., Salihu, D., Bello, U. M., Ndwiga, D., Maharaj, R., Naidoo, K., & Kolo, M. A. (2022). COVID-19 pandemic and overall mental health of healthcare professionals globally: A meta-review of systematic reviews. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 12, 804525. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2021.804525
Collett, G., Freeman, P., & Shuttleworth, J. (2024). Effective strategies to mitigate the adverse mental health impact and burnout amongst healthcare professionals: A rapid evidence assessment. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 29(2), 112–130. https://doi.org/10.1037/ocp0000367
Courtenay, K. (2007). Mental healthcare in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic. Psychiatric Bulletin, 31(9), 350–352. https://doi.org/10.1192/pb.31.9.350
Daniels, J. A., & Larson, L. M. (2001). The impact of performance feedback on counseling self-efficacy and counselor anxiety. Counselor Education and Supervision, 41(2), 120–130. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1556-6978.2001.tb01276.x
De Kock, J. H., Latham, H. A., Leslie, S. J., Grindle, M., Munoz, S.-A., Ellis, L., Polson, R., & O’Malley, C. M. (2021). A rapid review of the impact of COVID-19 on the mental health of healthcare workers: Implications for supporting psychological well-being. BMC Public Health, 21(1), 104. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-020-10070-3
Drus, M. (2020). The invisible frontline: Mental health clinicians during COVID-19. In S. D. A. Litam & R. S. Balkin (Eds.), Crisis and resilience in counseling (pp. 45–60). American Counseling Association.
Finstad, G. L., Giorgi, G., Lulli, L. G., Pandolfi, C., Foti, G., León-Perez, J. M., Cantero-Sánchez, F. J., & Mucci, N. (2021). Resilience, coping strategies and posttraumatic growth in the workplace following COVID-19: A narrative review on the positive aspects of trauma. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(18), 9453. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18189453
Gambaro, E., Gramaglia, C., Rossi, A., & Zeppegno, P. (2023). Mental health of healthcare workers during the second phase of the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy: A cross-sectional study. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20(4), 3075. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20043075
Gamlangchai. (n.d.). Programmes. Retrieved October 15, 2023, from https://www.gamlangchai.org/programmes
Gleeson, K. (2020). Dual roles and shared trauma: The therapist as citizen during pandemic. Journal of Loss and Trauma, 25(6–7), 523–538. https://doi.org/10.1080/15325024.2020.1796892
Gori, A., Arcioni, A., Topino, E., & Craparo, G. (2022). Development and validation of the Therapist Self-Efficacy Scale (T-SES). Journal of Clinical Psychology, 78(11), 2225–2244. https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.23345
Htay, M. N. N., Marzo, R. R., Bahari, R., AlRifai, A., Kamberi, F., Abdullah, M. F. I. B., & Nyamache, J. M. (2021). Coping strategies of healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Myanmar. BMC Public Health, 21(1), 63. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-020-10131-7
Hummel, S., Oetjen, N., Du, J., Posenato, E., de Almeida, R. M. R., Losada, R., Ribeiro, O., Frisardi, V., Hopper, L., Rashid, A., Nadeem, S., & Zafar, A. (2020). Mental health among medical professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic in eight European countries: Cross-sectional survey study. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 22(12), e24983. https://doi.org/10.2196/24983
Jennings, L., & Skovholt, T. M. (1999). The cognitive, emotional, and relational characteristics of master therapists. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 46(1), 3–11. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0167.46.1.3
Laotian Times. (2024, October 10). Breaking the silence: A new era for mental health care support in Laos. https://laotiantimes.com/2024/10/10/breaking-silence-new-era-mental-health-care-support-laos/
Litam, S. D. A., & Balkin, R. S. (2021). The elephant in the room: Investigating the role of professional counselors’ wellness and compassion fatigue on professional quality of life. Journal of Counseling & Development, 99(4), 379–390. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcad.12390
Liverani, M., Phengsavanh, A., & Khan, M. (2024). Challenges and opportunities for community-based care in Laos: A qualitative study. Globalization and Health, 20(1), 17. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12992-024-01016-0
Maslach, C., & Leiter, M. P. (2008). Early predictors of job burnout and engagement. Journal of Applied Psychology, 93(3), 498–512. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.93.3.498
Maslach, C., & Leiter, M. P. (2016). Understanding the burnout experience: Recent research and its implications for psychiatry. World Psychiatry, 15(2), 103–111. https://doi.org/10.1002/wps.20311
Ministry of Planning and Investment (Lao PDR) & United Nations. (2022). Lao PDR resilience framework. Vientiane, Laos.
Muller, A. E., Hafstad, E. V., Himmels, J. P. W., Smedslund, G., Flottorp, S., Stensland, S. Ø., Stroobants, S., Van de Velde, S., & Vist, G. E. (2020). The mental health impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on healthcare workers, and interventions to help them: A rapid systematic review. Journal of Affective Disorders, 275, 4–17. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2020.06.022
Norcross, J. C., & Lambert, M. J. (Eds.). (2019). *Psychotherapy relationships that work: Volume 1: Evidence-based therapist contributions* (3rd ed.). Oxford University Press.
Ornell, F., Halpern, S. C., Kessler, F. H. P., & Narvaez, J. C. D. M. (2020). The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of healthcare professionals. Cadernos de Saúde Pública, 36(4), e00063520. https://doi.org/10.1590/0102-311X00063520
Pollock, A., Campbell, P., Cheyne, J., Cowie, J., Davis, B., McCallum, J., McGill, K., Elders, A., Hagen, S., McClurg, D., Torrens, C., & Maxwell, M. (2020). Interventions to support the resilience and mental health of frontline health and social care professionals during and after a disease outbreak, epidemic or pandemic: A mixed methods systematic review. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2020(11), CD013779. https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD013779
Qian, Y., Zheng, X., Wei, X., Wang, Z., Huang, X., & Lin, J. (2016). An analysis of the health workforce in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic. Human Resources for Health, 14(1), 48. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12960-016-0147-2
Rokach, A. (2020). Burnout and the psychotherapist. Current Psychology, 41(4), 2435–2443. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-020-00773-6
Smallwood, N., Karimi, L., Bismark, M., Putland, M., Johnson, D., Dharmage, S. C., Barson, E., Atkin, N., Long, C., Ng, I., Holland, A., & Willis, K. (2021). The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of healthcare workers in primary and secondary care: A cross-sectional study. Journal of Clinical Medicine, 10(22), 5336. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm10225336
Smith, J. A. (2015). Interpretative phenomenological analysis: A method in its own right. Health Psychology Review, 9(1), 1–3. https://doi.org/10.1080/17437199.2014.994247
Smith, J. A. (2021). Interpretative phenomenological analysis: Theory, method and research (2nd ed.). Sage Publications.
Smith, J. A., & Osborn, M. (2015). Interpretative phenomenological analysis as a useful methodology for research on the lived experience of pain. British Journal of Pain, 9(1), 41–42. https://doi.org/10.1177/2049463714541642
Stamm, B. H. (2010). The professional quality of life scale: Compassion satisfaction and fatigue version 5 (ProQOL). https://proqol.org/ProQol_Test.html
UNFPA. (2022, January 12). Health providers in 10 provinces can now use telehealth to ensure essential health services for women and girls. https://lao.unfpa.org/en/news/health-providers-10-provinces-can-now-use-telehealth-ensure-essential-health-services-women-and
Westermeyer, J. (1988). Folk explanations of mental illness in rural Laos. American Journal of Psychiatry, 145(8), 935–937. https://doi.org/10.1176/ajp.145.8.935
World Health Organization. (2021, October 7). Lao PDR strengthens capacity to deliver mental health care nationwide. https://www.who.int/laos/news/detail/07-10-2021-lao-pdr-strengthens-capacity-to-deliver-mental-health-care-nationwide
World Health Organization. (2022). Mental health. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/mental-health
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Iver Glenn U. Felix, Daissa Mae Pagunsan-Fadriquela
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
