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Burnout : Implications For Counselors, Rhonda L. Corell

Graduate Research Papers

The phenomenon of burnout has received wide attention during the last fifteen years, especially in human service organizations. Burnout may affect individuals in a number of ways within the work setting. Its consequences may be physical, emotional, or intellectual (Whitaker, 1995). The key characteristics are an overwhelming exhaustion; feelings of frustration, anger, and cynicism; and a sense of ineffectiveness and failure (Maslach & Goldberg, 1998). Emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced personal accomplishment are symptoms of a cognitive and emotional state that mental health workers experience and observe among their colleagues (Leiter & Harvie, 1996). Although some people may quit the …