CP-Care curriculum, training course and assessment mechanism (ECVET based) Website: http://cpcare.eu/en/ This project (CP-CARE - 2016-1-TR01-KA202-035094) has been funded with support from the European Commission. This communication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

1. IO2 module 7
Burnout
CP-CARE - 2016-1-TR01-KA202-035094
(01.12.2016 – 30.11.2019)

2. Unit 1 – The nature of Burnout
Syndrome

3.  Burnout Syndrome definition
◦ There is not one commonly accepted definition of
burnout.
◦ It is neither a defined diagnosis in ICD-10 nor in
DSM-IV.
◦ Burnout is not a psychiatric diagnosis, but a
concept of the occupational psychology, concerning
the impact of working conditions on the psyche of
affected persons.
◦ Most often the Burnout Syndrome is clasified as
“work-related stress disorder”, because it’s tightly
connected to experiencing a lot of stress while
doing your job.
◦ It is important to distinguish burnout from
depression, alexithymia, feeling unwell and the
concept of prolonged exhaustion.

4.  Burnout effects
◦ Exhaustion is not something that is simply
experienced—rather, it prompts actions to
distance oneself emotionally and cognitively
from one’s work, presumably as a way to cope
with the work overload.
◦ Depersonalization is an attempt to put
distance between oneself and service recipients
by actively ignoring the qualities that make
them unique and make people engage.
◦ Demands are more manageable when they are
considered impersonal objects of one’s work
◦ Inefficacy (reduced personal accomplishment)

5. Unit 2– Burnout in care providing
professionals

6.  People who provide some type of care to
other people (patients, clients, parents,
children etc.) may suffer from Burnout.
 In fact, this group experiences Burnout
most often.
 There is a great risk of harming the health
of the care receiver, when the professional
who is taking care is experiencing
Burnout.

7.  Some “burnout in care giving” videos:
◦ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_uxbyGeTTxM
◦ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=da-4GEaWK4I
◦ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6gRejq8qHo
◦ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duhJHedj82g
◦ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBpqJdOAIXc
◦ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTFo1oODgTk

8.  Recommended reading material
◦ The staff burn-out syndrome in alternative
institutions. Freudenberger, H. J. (1975)
 Burn-out is defined as failure or exhaustion because of
excessive demands on energy, strength, or resources.
 Early signs and symptoms are described, measures to
prevent burn-out are suggested, and how to support the
burnt-out person is discussed.
◦ Job burnout (Leiter & Maslach 1988) a study of
hospital nurses yielded the following sequence:
 (a) Stressful interactions with supervisors increase the
workers’ feelings of exhaustion;
 (b) High levels of exhaustion lead to cynicism,
especially if workers lack supportive contact with their
coworkers;
 (c) As cynicism persists, the workers’ feelings of
efficacy diminish, although supportive contact with
coworkers may help to decelerate this process.

9. ◦ The link between job-related burnout and depressive
disorders—results from the Finnish Health 2000 Study
(e.g., Ahola et al., 2005; Nyklicek & Pop, 2005; Peterson
et al., 2008)
 Nationally representative sample comprised 3276 employees aged
30–64 years.
 Burnout and depressive disorders were clearly related.
 The risk of depressive disorders, especially major depressive
disorder (12-month prevalence), was greater when burnout was
severe.
◦ Insufficient Sleep Predicts Clinical Burnout (Söderström,
Jeding, Ekstedt, Perski, & Åkerstedt, 2012)
 Analysis identified “too little sleep (less than 6 hours)” as the main
risk factor for clinical burnout, after adjustments for “work
demands,” “thoughts of work during leisure time,” and “sleep
quality.”
 Iinsufficient sleep, difficulties detaching from thoughts of work
during leisure time are more significant than stressful work
demands.
 This points to the very important role of recovery from stress.

10. Unit 3 – Factors that contribute to
emerging of Burnout Syndrome

11. ◦ Work-related stress
 all the stress and tension felt while doing the care work
◦ Lack of proper rest
 not wanting to admit the need of regular and sufficient
rest
◦ Personal attachment
 live with someone else’s problems – the care receiver,
family members, etc.
◦ Occupational characteristics
 Caring is a continuous effort for a (parent) caregiver,
often in an unfavourable environment.
◦ Family / private life issues
 personal problems add stress and make it harder to
think and solve the problems of others

12.  Two main factor types:
◦ External (situational)
 high demands at work
 contradictory instructions
 time pressure
 bullying and bad work atmosphere
 limited opportunities to make free choices
 poor or insufficient communication
 limited resources (material and non-material)
which affect quality of the working process
 lack of positive feedback
 insufficient rewarding mechanisms

13. ◦ Inner (personality-related)
 idealistic (unreal high) expectation about self
 perfectionism
 strong need of recognition
 strong desire to please others
 suppressing own needs
 feeling of being irreplaceable
 lack of ability to delegate or mistrust towards
others
 perceiving care work as the only meaningful
activity in one’s life and using work as a substitute
for social and private life

14. Unit 4 – Identifying Burnout
Syndrome Characteristics

15. I am at high risk of Burnout if I am feeling
some of the below mentioned:
•feeling down all the time, being joyless
Emotional exhaustion
•not seeing care recipients as unique human beings but as objects
Depersonalization
•(feeling) getting worse in the things you do
Reduced personal accomplishment
•suffer from it on a regular basis, 1-3 times per week or even
every day
Overwhelming fatigue / headaches

16. •Feeling that you don’t want to do your job anymore
Loss of motivation
•think that only your job matters
Cynical view of one’s job
•feeling nothing is right and you cannot change it
Sense of inefficacy and failure
•feeling tension and fearing that something bad will happen
Increased tension / anxiety
•desire to destroy something or hit someone
Violent outbursts
•aggressiveness toward clients
Propensity for violent and aggressive behavior

17. • not feeling good in your own skin, fighting with partner,
children, etc.
Interpersonal, marital and family conflicts
• not interested anymore to go to theater with friends, to
meet people, to do your usual hobby
Social isolation and withdrawal from the
usual daily activities
• not considering their feelings, thoughts, personal dignity
and answering without making efforts to establish an
effective conversation
Responding to clients in a mechanical
manner

18. Unit 5 – What to do? – Possible ways for
searching qualified psychological care in case
of Burnout

19. How to search for help?
• Using personal experience
• trying to talk with others who are in the same or a similar
situation like you (personal care givers or parents of
people with disabilities)
• making efforts to learn from their experience
• Trying to take time off
• inviting a friend and go together to a social event
(cinema, theatre, concert)

20. How you can help yourself?
• Reserve daily some time for yourself.
• Within that time you can do relaxation exercises, read
your favourite book or do your preferred sport activities.
• Reduce your contact with negative people and spend
more time with your loved once.
• Pay attention on the positive aspects of your work, ask
yourself what makes you happy and content at the end
of the day.

21. Other ways to get help:
• Try to join (parent) peer support groups
• peer support groups give space to the person to share
his/her issues, professional challenges, and the group
together discusses possible solutions for overcoming
difficult situations.
• Visit a doctor and if needed psychologist

22. Public institutions which can be addressed for
providing psychological help to care giving
professionals.
 (each partner to complete for their own country)

23. Unit 6 – Prevention of Burnout

24.  Resting sufficiently:
◦ Relaxing is really important for all caregivers.
◦ You can try some relaxing techniques like
meditation, yoga or breathing techniques.
 The best ways to reduce stress:
◦ sport activities
◦ creative hobbies
◦ book reading
◦ listening to music
◦ meeting friends
Example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oex8oe3Igmc

25.  Declining unjustified requests in an assertive
manner
◦ Remember, you are not obliged to do everything
what your client wants.
◦ You can say “No” without being rude.
◦ Just explain that this request is out of your duties
and you cannot fulfill it.
◦ If the client persists, change the topic and try to
distract him/her.
◦ If you cannot handle the situation, search for help
from other professionals (psychologist, colleague,
etc.).
◦ If you cannot help the client, suggest alternatives
and advise him/her who can be useful in this case.

26. References
 Korczak D., Huber B., Kister C., Differential
diagnostic of the burnout syndrome , GMS
Health Technol Assess 2010
 Hakanena J. J., Schaufeli W. B., Do burnout
and work engagement predict depressive
symptoms and life satisfaction? A three-wave
seven-year prospective study, Journal of
Affective Disorders Volume 141, Issues 2–3,
10 December 2012, Pages 415-424
 Francesco C., Adjustment Disorders in DSM-
5: Implications for Occupational Health
Surveillance, Acta Psychopathologica 2015

27. CP-Care project partners
 Gazi University (Turkey)
 PhoenixKM BVBA (Belgium)
 Bilge Special Education And Rehabilitation
Clinic (Turkey)
 Spastic Children Foundation Of Turkey
(Turkey)
 Serçev- Association For Children With
Cerebral Palsy (Turkey)
 Asociacion Espanola De Fisioterapeutas
(Spain)
 National Association Of Professionals Working
With People With Disabilities (Bulgaria)

28. CP-CARE curriculum, learning material,
handbook by www.cpcare.eu is licensed
under a Creative Commons Attribution-
NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License.
Based on a work at www.cpcare.eu
Permissions beyond the scope of this
license may be available at www. cpcare.eu
This project (CP-CARE - 2016-1-TR01-
KA202-035094) has been funded with
support from the European Commission.
This communication reflects the views only
of the author, and the Commission cannot
be held responsible for any use which may
be made of the information contained
therein.