Observed Differences in Burnout Between Master's-Level and Doctoral-Level Psychotherapists

Burnout has received ongoing attention in the psychotherapist literature, with much of the emphasis placed on examining risks for its development and consequences of its occurrence. However, there is a paucity of research comparing burnout between psychotherapist training levels. The current study examined a sample of licensed psychotherapists (n = 108) from different training levels and educational backgrounds. Differences in emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and personal accomplishment were examined between psychotherapists trained at the master's-level and those trained at the doctoral-level. Findings indicated that master's-level psychotherapists experienced more depersonalization on average compared to doctoral-level psychotherapists. Moreover, exploratory regression analyses found that training-level moderated the relationship between treatment hours provided per week and depersonalization scores, which was additionally moderated by control over client caseload. Specifically, master's level-psychotherapists with less control over their caseload experienced greater depersonalization scores the more time they spent treating clients per week. Whereas no conditional relationships were found for doctoral-level psychotherapists or master's-level psychotherapists who reported greater control over their caseload in relation to treatment hours per week and depersonalization scores. Allowing master's-level psychotherapists to have more control over the topography of their client caseload when feasible may help to reduce burnout-related depersonalization.