- Oncology distress extends beyond traditional burnout models, involving trauma exposure, moral injury, and psychodynamic vulnerability that elevate risk for depression and suicidality.
- Grief, cumulative trauma, and embodied manifestations of distress operate as interconnected processes rather than separate phenomena in oncology clinicians.
- Institutional responses must integrate organisational, trauma informed, and psychodynamic perspectives for research, clinical interventions, and policies supporting clinician wellbeing in high mortality specialties.
J Health Psychol. 2026 Jun 11:13591053261458200. doi: 10.1177/13591053261458200. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
Burnout among physicians has been widely described; however, the psychological mechanisms underlying distress, depression, and suicidality in oncology professionals remain insufficiently integrated within health psychology. Oncology is characterized by sustained exposure to suffering, high emotional labor, and moral complexity, placing clinicians at elevated risk for mental health sequelae that extend beyond traditional burnout models. This mini review synthesizes interdisciplinary literature on burnout, trauma exposure, moral injury, and psychodynamic vulnerability among oncology professionals. It further examines grief, cumulative trauma, and embodied manifestations of distress as interconnected psychological processes rather than discrete phenomena. By integrating organizational, trauma-informed, and psychodynamic perspectives, this review identifies conceptual gaps in existing models and highlights implications for health psychology research, clinical intervention, and institutional policy aimed at supporting clinician well-being in high-mortality medical specialties.
PMID:42273836 | DOI:10.1177/13591053261458200
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