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Stress and Burnout Among Rehabilitation Counsellors Within the Context of Insurance-Based Rehabilitation: An Institutional-Level Analysis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 August 2015

Nicholas Buys  and
Elizabeth Kendall
Nicholas Buys
Affiliation:
Center for Human Services, Griffith University
Elizabeth Kendall*
Affiliation:
Center for Human Services, Griffith University
*
Center for Human Services, Faculty of Health Sciences, Griffith University, Nathan QL D 4111, Australia.
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Abstract

Work stress and burnout are common problems in rehabilitation services. Usually, attempts to account for stress and burnout focus on the qualities of the individual and the demands of the organisational environment. However, the current paper has responded to recent demands in the occupational stress literature to examine burnout from a third perspective, namely the institutional level. This level of analysis transcends the boundaries of organisations and can be defined by the various political, economic, social and legal constraints that characterise a broad area. It is argued that the rapid growth of insurance-based rehabilitation in Australia has created a unique institutional context that has significant implications for the development of stress and burnout among rehabilitation counsellors. Rehabilitation counsellors in this context face a diverse array of conflicting demands within a system that often does not support the goals of rehabilitation. It is proposed that the development of strategies to reduce stress and burnout in this area would benefit from an institutional-level analysis. While individualised stress management training clearly has a role in the minimisation of stress and burnout, it is proposed in the current paper that this issue has human resource management and educational implications that must be addressed.

Type
Articles
Information
The Australian Journal of Rehabilitation Counselling , Volume 4 , Issue 1 , 1998 , pp. 1 - 12
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1998

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