Understanding the Impact of School Factors on School Counselor Burnout: A Mixed-Methods Study

Abstract

School counselors are a well-positioned resource to reach the significant number of children and adolescents with mental health problems. In this special school counseling issue of The Professional Counselor, some articles focus on systemic, top-down advocacy efforts as the point of intervention for addressing child and adolescent mental health. Other articles investigate improving child and adolescent mental health through a localized, groundlevel approach by developing school counselors' competency areas and specific school counseling interventions. Article topics include school counselors' professional identity, training, self-efficacy, supervision, burnout, career competencies and cultural competencies, as well as how to measure the impact of school counselors' interventions. The author discusses the importance of school counselors' role within schools, and hindrances to school counselors' ability to perform their role as counselors.

Self‐Stigma of Mental Illness and Help Seeking Among School Counselors

“…Therefore, this research examined these relationships as a means to understand the complex factors associated with school counselor burnout and stress. It was suggested that school counselors might be struggling with feelings of burnout and a decrease in job satisfaction (Bardhoshi et al, ; Harnois, ; Mathews, ) related to their changing roles and job responsibilities. Although burnout and stress are not diagnosable concerns, stress can exacerbate or trigger more serious mental illness (Jason, Fennell, & Taylor, ), so seeking support is important.…”

“…If school counselors believe they will seek help for a mental illness if and when it develops, perhaps they will be able to cope effectively with job stressors, thus helping themselves and providing better services to students. Researchers (Bardhoshi et al, ; Harnois, ; Mathews, ) have suggested that school counselors might be in danger of developing burnout and might struggle with satisfaction related to their changing work responsibilities, so perhaps seeking mental health support as a preventative measure will assist them with ensuring that these stressors do not become larger mental health issues.…”

“…Because of this blurring of roles, scholars have examined the relationship between noncounseling duties, burnout, and satisfaction. Bardhoshi et al () found that performing noncounseling duties significantly predicted burnout in a sample of 252 school counselors. Looking particularly at ASCA and non‐ASCA functions of school counselors as they relate to role conflict, role ambiguity, and satisfaction, Cervoni and DeLucia‐Waack () sampled 175 high school counselors in order to examine the relationship between these factors.…”

A Failure to Communicate: Are University Websites Readable?

“…Because these materials are too advanced for most educated juniors and seniors, the online college and university exploration process must be linguistically difficult for illiterate parents, parents and students whose first language is not English, families surviving poverty, and first-generation college students. Considering the importance of high school counselors in the college exploration process (Corwin, Venegas, Oliverez & Colyar, 2004), their high burnout rates (Bardhoshi, Schweinle & Duncan, 2014) and overwhelming student caseloads (McDonough, 2005) renders the university website a critical source of pre-college information for aspiring college students from all backgrounds. The readability of university-authored web materials is problematic.…”

Leisure Participation, Job Stress, and Life Satisfaction: Moderation Analysis of Two Models

“…Similarly, dual-job holding may increase job stress and decrease quality of life (Jamal, Baba, & Rivière, 1998). Findings in a study conducted with professional school counselors who were also required to perform noncounseling duties revealed an increased level of burnout perceived by the participants, including exhaustion and deterioration of personal life (Bardhoshi, Schweinle, & Duncan, 2014). In addition, Kolodinsky, Draves, Schroder, Lindsey, and Zlatev (2009) found that paperwork and other noncounseling duties interfered with the roles of school counselors and were, indeed, a source of job stress and dissatisfaction for them.…”