U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice.

NCJRS Virtual Library

The Virtual Library houses over 235,000 criminal justice resources, including all known OJP works.
Click here to search the NCJRS Virtual Library

Stress and Burnout in Crisis Intervention (From Crisis Intervention in Criminal Justice/Social Service, Second Edition, P 320-360, 1996, James E Hendricks and Bryan Byers, eds. -- See NCJ-163966)

NCJ Number
163977
Author(s)
T F Wynkoop
Date Published
1996
Length
41 pages
Annotation
This chapter examines some of the causes and effects of stress and burnout for crisis-intervention professionals.
Abstract
The first section considers burnout, stress, and a variety of models of stress. "Burnout" is defined as a state of being worn out due to excessive demands placed on the professional's personal resources and consists of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and lowered work productivity. "Stress" is defined as an emotional and physiological reaction to a variety of internal and external stimuli. It is the exposure to chronic unmediated distress that is believed to cause burnout. The next section presents research findings on stress and burnout. The research findings are relevant to the models of stress and burnout presented previously. The chapter advises that the best solution for stress and burnout is to prevent them, but since this is not always possible, the author proposes several practical solutions applicable to the sociopolitical context, the organizational context, and the individual context. Discussion questions, simulated exercises, and 50 references