Occupational stress is a significant concern among mental health practitioners. This qualitative study examined the perspectives of Filipino clinical psychologists regarding the sources of stress they encounter in their profession, as well as their coping strategies. There is limited research examining occupational stress among Filipino psychologists and how they manage their stress. This study employed a qualitative descriptive research design and conducted in-depth, semi-structured interviews. Participants of the study were nine licensed clinical psychologists working in private counseling practice with at least five years of experience or more, work parttime or full time in a privately owned clinic, provides counseling and psychotherapy, has at least handled ten or more cases per year of service, part-time or full-time teaching in college or university and within the age range of 30-55 years old. The data were analyzed using thematic analysis to identify recurring themes and meanings. The findings revealed three themes on the views of occupational stress, namely occupational strain, hindrance to service, and transforming experience. The two themes identified on the sources of occupational stress include personal sources and external sources of work stress. Lastly, there are five themes on the coping strategies used by clinical psychologists namely positive disposition, self-care activities, professional growth, social support, and enhancing organizational support. This study highlights the importance of taking care of the psychologists’ well-being to provide better mental health care to their clients. Being a psychologist can be stressful, but positive experiences with clients can lessen occupational stress.

Keywords: occupational stress, clinical psychologists, views of occupational stress, sources of occupational stress, coping strategies, private counseling practice