Date of Award

Spring 5-2026

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling

Major

Expressive Therapies

First Advisor

Jason Butler

Abstract

Burnout is a syndrome in which compounded stress leads sufferers to feel physical and mental exhaustion, mental distancing, cognitive and emotional impairment, depressed mood, psychological distress, and psychosomatic complaints. Originally thought of as a phenomenon affecting only individuals in helping roles (i.e., mental health workers, teachers, nurses, and police officers), research on burnout and its effective management has become increasingly important since the 1980s, highlighting its pervasiveness across occupational and personal realms. This integrative literature review focused on understanding the effects of burnout on master 's-level counseling students, investigating how Internal Family Systems theory (IFS) and drama therapy’s role theory could be combined in an intervention to mitigate its effects. Burnout stems from systemic issues being influenced by personal, societal, cultural, and environmental factors. Through the use of IFS and role theory, both of which view individuals as systems created by relational, societal, cultural, and environmental experiences, individuals can interact and understand their burnout and its causes in a deeper and more embodied way. Through this integrative literature review, this writer synthesizes her findings, proposing a model for integrating burnout interventions within an organizational system and an intervention/framework to embed within that model to aid individuals in understanding their experiences with burnout.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 License.

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