Trajectories of burnout and psychological well‐being among psychotherapists during the Covid‐19 pandemic: Results of a 1‐year prospective study

Abstract

The main goal of this study was to investigate the trajectories of the changes in burnout and subjective well‐being (SWB) among psychotherapists in relation to social support, self‐efficacy, sociodemographic, and work‐related factors, with additional control for the subjectively experienced Covid‐19 related distress. This study was carried out over a 1‐year period during the critical time of the Covid‐19 pandemic. We reached 226 Polish psychotherapists, of which 207 psychotherapists (91.6%) participated in all three measurements. The participants completed the following measurements: the Maslach Burnout Inventory‐Human Service Survey, the Satisfaction with Life Scale, the General Self‐Efficacy Scale, the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, and a questionnaire regarding sociodemographic, work‐related factors and Covid‐19 related distress. Several trajectories were observed for both burnout and SWB, which were differently associated with the level of social support, self‐efficacy, and sociodemographic and work‐related factors. We did not find a significant relationship between Covid‐19 related distress and the inclusion of either burnout or SWB trajectories. This study calls for greater interest in the psychological health of psychotherapists. More specifically, our findings may entail some implications for the practice of psychotherapy by creating customized intervention programs to reduce burnout and enhance well‐being in this specific occupation.

What helps the helpers? Resilience and risk factors for general and profession-specific mental health problems in psychotherapists during the COVID-19 pandemic

“…Beyond this general burden, the COVID-19 pandemic has challenged psychotherapists in an unprecedented way (e.g., Aafjes-van Doorn et al, 2020 , 2021a ). This ongoing public health challenge has negatively impacted mental health in both general and clinical populations ( Clemente-Suárez et al, 2021 ; Robinson et al, 2022 ), and a rise in burnout prevalence has been observed in psychotherapists ( Van Hoy et al, 2022 ; Mittal et al, 2023 ) with more complex trajectories longitudinally ( Van Hoy and Rzeszutek, 2023 ). Particularly when therapists and patients are simultaneously experiencing a disaster, e.g., during Hurricane Katrina ( Culver et al, 2011 ) or following the terrorist attacks on 9/11 ( Boscarino et al, 2004 ), the experience of secondary traumatic stress seems to increase the disaster’s deleterious impact on mental health practitioners ( Aafjes-van Doorn et al, 2020 ).…”