Burnout, racial trauma, and protective experiences of Black psychologists and counselors

The present study explored rates of burnout and racial trauma among 182 Black mental health professionals (BMHPs) and utilized racial-cultural theory to explore potential protective factors against burnout and racial trauma.

We collected data from 182 Black psychologists and counselors who were active mental health professionals during 2020. Descriptive statistics, multivariate analyses of variance, follow-up univariate analyses of variance, bivariate correlations, and multiple regression analyses were used.

Both burnout and racial trauma were considerably higher among BMHPs than has been reported across general samples of helping professionals and across a sample of Black participants across the United States. Differences among rates of burnout and racial trauma existed across genders and specialties (i.e., counseling and psychology). Higher levels of social support and an external locus of control significantly predicted lower levels of burnout and racial trauma. In addition, higher levels of resilient coping predicted lower levels of burnout. Last, more frequent meetings with a mentor significantly predicted lower levels of racial trauma.

Results from this study suggest that BMHPs may be more susceptible to burnout and race-based traumatic stress as a result of their work. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).