Exploring Burnout in the Mental Health Field through Dramatic Projection and Puppets: A Group Experiential

Author

Amanda DeloreFollow

Date of Award

Spring 5-18-2024

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

MAE - Master of Arts in Expressive Therapies

Department

Expressive Therapies

Advisor

Laure Wood, PHD, RDT/BCT, LMHC

Abstract

Mental health clinicians are more likely to experience burnout within their profession because of the influence of experiences of secondary trauma and compassion fatigue. Often within a professional space where mental health workers are employed, the topic of self-care is mentioned but not explored in the context of skills to engage in self-care and combat burnout. The following community engagement project explored how burnout is experienced by current mental health professionals through the execution of creating and using puppets. Puppets were used to explore how burnout affects professional mental health workers in a partial hospital program (PHP) in Norwell, Massachusetts. This paper will discuss the use of puppetry as a way to connect with co-workers in an expressive manner, exploring the themes of burnout and self-care.

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Recommended Citation

Delore, Amanda, "Exploring Burnout in the Mental Health Field through Dramatic Projection and Puppets: A Group Experiential" (2024). Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses. 897.
https://digitalcommons.lesley.edu/expressive_theses/897