COGNITIVE-BEHAVIORAL THERAPY FOR BURNOUT AMONG CRISIS PSYCHOLOGISTS

Abstract

The article is devoted to the phenomenon of occupational burnout and the peculiarities of its cognitive-behavioral therapy in specialists working with the category of stress-related disorders, including PTSD.
A general review of scientific data on occupational burnout (OB) is made. Modern definitions of burnout, ideas about the boundary between normality and disorder, diagnostic criteria and diagnostic methods, risk factors for development, and different ideas about the stages of development of occupational burnout are considered.
Modern ideas about the prevention of burnout are analyzed. The most widespread is the model of influence on six factors (workload, control, reward, community, justice, and values). There is low-quality evidence of the effectiveness of CBT, mindfulness, relaxation methods (physical and mental), changes in work schedule, and creating a sense of professional security from the studies on the prevention of OB. The general conclusion is that the level of research on the prevention of OB is insufficient and that it is impossible to identify an unambiguously effective approach to prevention.
The theoretical models of the VP, the main of which are the stress model and the depressive model, as well as the criticism of the OB as a diagnostic category, are considered. At the moment, there are more factors favoring the depressive model of OB than the stress model.
Studies of OB among psychologists identify the following OB factors: younger age and less work experience, female gender, low emotional stability and low level of subjectively perceived resources, emotionally oriented coping, and imbalance between personal life and professional activities. Personal therapy and/or supervision act as a significant buffer against OB.
Studies of OB in professionals working with mental trauma show that client load, occupational burnout, and secondary traumatization are in a complex, ambiguous, and mediated by other parameters relationship. Organizational factors (support and security, or vice versa, pressure and insecurity) and factors of training, supervision, and personal psychotherapy have the greatest impact. A very important factor is job satisfaction and a sense of meaning, which can be a powerful buffer against occupational burnout, but most likely not against secondary traumatization.
The article provides recommendations for the work of crisis psychologists in modern Ukrainian realities, the main of which are acceptable loads; physical activity, relaxation and mindfulness; work with depressive personal factors (including disappointment in work); supervision; support for meaning and professional satisfaction; and a full personal life outside of work. Recommendations for psychotherapy in case of occupational burnout are also provided.

Keywords: burnout, crisis psychologists, stress-related disorders, PTSD, cognitive-behavioral therapy, psychological practice, psychotherapy

Accepted: 16.02.2025

Reviewed: 29.03.2025

Published: 30.04.2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.31108/3.2025.9.3