Occupational Therapy in Mental Health: Managing Stress and Burnout

Abstract

Stress and burnout for human service workers has received increasing attention over a number of years. It has been suggested that health care professionals may be particularly at risk of stress and burnout because of the amount and type of direct client contact that makes up their work. For workers in the field of mental health, additional stressors are present owing to organisational restructuring and new models of care. Mental health occupational therapists may be vulnerable to stress and burnout owing to the nature of their work, the types of client they see, the changed work environment and professional issues. It is recommended that occupational therapists become aware of the factors contributing to stress and burnout and develop strategies to maintain their wellbeing in the workforce.

Stress and burnout among healthcare professionals working in a mental health setting in Singapore

“…This is consistent with many studies that demonstrated that young and presumably less experienced staff have difficulties coping with the demands of work (Hegney et al, 2014;Chiang and Chang, 2012;Edwards and Burnard, 2003). A growing body of literature has suggested that support from supervisors is crucial in helping junior staff cope with job stress (Acker, 2012;Bassett and Lloyd, 2001). While supervision programs do exist in Singapore, these do not yet appear to have been evaluated.…”

“…This can result in emotional exhaustion and stress, and may lead to burnout if not managed effectively (Bassett and Lloyd, 2001;Brown and Pranger, 1992;Bregar et al, 2011;Maslach et al, 2001). High levels of stress and burnout are, in turn, associated with decreased patient satisfaction, and with diminished work efficiency and high staff turnover rates in healthcare professionals (Edwards and Burnard, 2003;Stafford-Brown and Pakenham, 2012).…”

Pennsylvania Occupational Therapy Fieldwork Educator Practices and Preferences in Clinical Education

“…One theme that garnered the most emotional responses is the role that time constraints often play in providing quality fieldwork supervision while maintaining the requisite productivity level expected by employers. Bassett and Lloyd (2001) asserted that lack of resources and high caseloads lead to time constraints and greater stress for fieldwork supervisors. Moreover, the majority (n =103) of the fieldwork educators also indicated that time constraints made supervising fieldwork students either moderately or very challenging (Thomas et al, 2007).…”

“…Clearly, fieldwork is regarded as a necessity to prepare occupational therapy students for future practice, but further inquiry is required to implement plausible ideas to connect both the student's needs and those of existing patients without leaving fieldwork educators feeling pressed for time (Bassett & Lloyd, 2001;Thomas et al, 2007).…”

Effective supervision for occupational therapists: The development and implementation of an information package

“…The process of development, and a description of the supervision package, is presented in this paper. stress (Bassettt & Lloyd, 2001;Sweeney, Nichols & Kline, 1993). Health professionals now work in a climate where change is inevitable and often rapid (Merriam, 1996).…”