Abstract Background Social-health professionals should have knowledge, skills, and use personal resources that promote the helping relationship, access to effective intervention strategies, and well-being at work. In this professional group, the risk of developing burnout is common and the quality of professional life is strongly related to the intensity and frequency of exposure, including indirect exposure, to critical and traumatic events. In particular, social and health care professionals working with minors face great challenges, emotionally, metacognitively, and in terms of stress management. This study aims to investigate the relationship between some personal resources (coping strategies, emotional regulation and metacognition) and professional satisfaction in a group of social-health professionals working with minors suffering from psychosocial distress. Method Social-health professionals who work with minors completed self-assessment measures relating to the Professional Quality of Life Scale (PRQOL), Coping Orientation to the Problems Experienced—New Italian Version (COPE-NVI), Difficulties in Emotional Regulation Scale (DERS) and Metacognition Self-Assessment Scale (MSAS). Results The quality of professional life showed some significant correlations with the psychological characteristics studied. linear regression analysis using the dimensions measured by PRQOL as dependent variables. We then tested several regression models using the dimensions COPE, MSAS, and DERS as independent variables. MSAS showed no significance with any of the three PRQOL dimensions. Otherwise, COPE proved to be a significant predictor of quality of professional life for all three components. The DERS appears to predict only the burnout component. Conclusions The quality of professional life of social-health professionals who work with minors affected by psychosocial problems is influenced by individual resources at different levels, regardless of knowledge and skills. They show greater fatigue and aspects of secondary traumatization when emotional disengagement occurs and it seems difficult to accept their emotional reactions. Appropriate spaces for reflection and sharing can modulate maladaptive use of avoidance and promote caring relationships with minors.