Burnout Syndrome in Psychotherapists: A Comparative Analysis of Five Nations

Abstract

Burnout is a common phenomenon among psychotherapists. The purpose of this study was to test the Counselor Burnout Inventory (CBI; Lee et al., 2007) measurement invariance, as well as compare means of five latent variables (i.e., CBI subscales of Exhaustion, Incompetence, Negative Work Environment, Devaluing Client, and Deterioration in Personal Life) across five nations (United States, Korea, Japan, Philippines, and Hong Kong) using structural equation modeling. The results indicated that the assumptions of configural, factor loading, and intercept invariance were satisfied across the five nations. When comparing means of five latent variables, the results indicated differential burnout tendencies across the five nations. Implications for psychotherapists' burnout prevention and future research are discussed.