Contribution of Mindfulness and Emotional Intelligence to Burnout Among Counseling Interns Daniel Testa and Varunee Faii Sangganjanavanich The authors examined the contribution of mindfulness and emotional intelligence to burnout among counseling interns (N = 380). Results indicated that higher scores on mindfulness and emotional intelligence were related to lower burnout scores. Counselor educators and supervisors should be proactive in helping students to cultivate wellness practices during internships. Keywords: burnout, mindfulness, emotional intelligence, counseling interns, counselor education Burnout is an occupational hazard affecting one’s personal and professional well-being, leading to feelings of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced personal accomplishment (Maslach, Jackson, & Leiter, 1996). Burnout can result in physical and mental health problems, including fatigue and exhaustion, depression, and anxiety (Killian, 2008). Burnout can also affect one’s attitude about oneself and others. For example, counselors experiencing burnout may develop feelings of cynicism or pessimism toward clients and the profession or decreased self-efficacy (Gündüz, 2012). Burnout has been related to lower job satisfaction (Blankertz & Robinson, 1997), turnover within agencies (Alexander, Lichtenstein, Oh, & Ullman, 1998), lower quality of care to clients (Salyers et al., 2014), and intention to leave the helping professions. Specifically, counselor impairment has been acknowledged as a problem for the profession (Young & Lambie, 2007). The need for more proactive approaches to address counselor impairment, such as monitoring burnout and promoting wellness among counselors-in-training, has also been acknowledged (Roach & Young, 2007). The American Counseling Association (ACA; 2014) has recommended that counselors attend to their personal and professional well-being as a way to prevent impairment and burnout. In addition, the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP; 2015) requires counselor education programs to provide students with an understanding of self-care strategies for their well-being. Counselor well-being can be influenced by various factors such as the ability to assess, monitor, and regulate emotions. The latter factor, the ability to assess and Daniel Testa and Varunee Faii Sangganjanavanich, School of Counseling, The University of Akron. Daniel Testa is now at a private practice in Medina, Ohio. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Daniel Testa, Avenues of Counseling and Mediation
While the helping profession is rewarding. It can become overwhelming. It is imperative counselors always
care for themselves while caring for others. Review the attached article and respond to the following
quesfions:
1). Discuss the results of the study
2). Discuss the manner in which you will ensure you do not become overwhelmed in the profession.
