162 The Professional Counselor™ Volume 13, Issue 3, Pages 162–176 http://tpcjournal.nbcc.org © 2023 NBCC, Inc. and Affiliates doi: 10.15241/dl.13.3.162 Donghun Lee, Sojeong Nam, Jeongwoon Jeong, GoEun Na, Jungeun Lee Developing and Validating a Process Model of Counselor Burnout: A Serial Mediation Model Despite advanced definitions and continued research on counselor burnout, attempts to investigate an expanded structure of counselor burnout remain limited. Using a serial mediation, the current study conducted a path analysis of a hypothesized process model using the five dimensions of the Counselor Burnout Inventory. Our research findings support the hypothesized sequential process model of counselor burnout, confirming full mediating effects of Deterioration in Personal Life, Exhaustion, and Incompetence in a serial order on the relationship between Negative Work Environment and Devaluing Client. Suggestions for future research and practical implications for counselors, supervisors, and directors are discussed. Keywords: counselor burnout, serial mediation, path analysis, process model, Counselor Burnout Inventory Burnout has received significant attention in counseling research because of the unique nature of counseling work (Bardhoshi et al., 2019; Bardhoshi & Um, 2021; Fye et al., 2020; J. J. Kim et al., 2018; Maslach & Leiter, 2016). Early studies on burnout focused on defining burnout as a phenomenon. Freudenberger (1975), recognized as one of the pioneers in examining the burnout phenomenon, emphasized a loss of motivation and emotional exhaustion, defining it as “failing, wearing out, or becoming exhausted through excessive demands on energy, strength, or resources” (p. 73). Osborn (2004) placed an emphasis on physical and psychological reactions to job stress, describing burnout as “the process of physical and emotional depletion resulting from conditions at work or, more concisely, prolonged job stress” (p. 319). Maslach and colleagues have attempted to find a broader definition of burnout in their studies (Maslach & Jackson, 1981a, 1981b; Maslach et al., 1997, 2001; Maslach & Leiter, 2016) by conceptualizing three core dimensions of burnout—emotional exhaustion, a sense of reduced personal accomplishment, and depersonalization—as a syndrome of individuals exposed to long-term emotional and interpersonal stressors related to their job. Many researchers have investigated burnout phenomenon, particularly among counselors, over several decades (Emerson & Markos, 1996; Evans & Villavisanis, 1997; W. C. McCarthy & Frieze, 1999; Malach-Pines & Yafe-Yanai, 2001). These studies have manifested additional focus on counselors’ actual performance in working with clients by describing counselor burnout as a state in which counselors experience considerable difficulties in performing proper functions and providing effective counseling. Kesler (1990) emphasized counselors’ internal psychological process in her definition of counselor burnout, defining it as a decreased sense of personal accomplishment in which an individual blames themself for their emotional and physical exhaustion, career fatigues, cynical attitudes toward clients, withdrawal from clients, and chronic depression and/or increased anxiety. Further efforts have been made to better understand counselor burnout by examining the relationships of the three core dimensions—emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced personal accomplishment. There is a common argument across burnout studies that emotional Donghun Lee, PhD, NCC, is an assistant professor at the University of Texas at San Antonio. Sojeong Nam, PhD, NCC, is an assistant professor at The University of New Mexico. Jeongwoon Jeong, PhD, NCC, is an assistant professor at The University of New Mexico. GoEun Na, PhD, NCC, is an assistant professor at The City University of New York at Hunter College. Jungeun Lee, PhD, LPC, LPC-S, is a clinical professor at the University of Houston. Correspondence may be addressed to Donghun Lee, 501 W. Cesar E. Chavez Blvd., Durango Building 4.304, San Antonio, TX 78207, donghun.lee@utsa.edu.
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