Date of Award

2025

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Department

Graduate Department of Clinical Psychology

First Advisor

Winston Seegobin

Second Advisor

Carilyn Ellis

Third Advisor

Kenneth Logan

Abstract

There is an immense need for behavioral health clinicians in the United States, with an estimated 43.4 million people having behavioral concerns in 2015. An estimated 37% of counties in the United States are facing a shortage of behavioral health workers, which means many people are going without treatment. It also means caseloads will be elevated for current behavioral health clinicians. Research consistently shows that these workers face high burnout rates every year. Though burnout is typically studied at the organizational level, there are elevated rates of burnout at the academic training level. Because research has focused on the organization level, burnout intervention models have been implemented at the organizational level and not at the training level. This study examines the impact of interventions designed to alleviate burnout at the training level, with the hope to serve as a preventative measure in clinical career trajectory. The data were analyzed using paired samples t-tests, Pearson’s correlations, and Wilcoxon signed rank tests. The results indicated that burnout levels and daily stress decreased following a 30-min intervention. Additionally, burnout levels and perceived stress were found to be positively correlated. However, participant’s sense of community was not found to be correlated with their level of burnout. Overall, burnout is present in the graduate student training population, and students were found to benefit in the short-term from simple, small interventions.

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