Trauma-Informed Supervision and Related Predictors of Burnout and Secondary Traumatic Stress Among Prelicensed Counsellors During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Int J Adv Couns. 2023;45(2):310-329. doi: 10.1007/s10447-022-09493-x. Epub 2022 Oct 22.

Abstract

In the current study, we examined individual factors, organizational factors, COVID-19 anxiety, and trauma-informed supervision as predictors of prelicensed counsellor burnout and secondary traumatic stress (STS). In a sample of 282 prelicensed counsellors, we conducted two hierarchical regression analyses for counsellor burnout and STS. The variables of interest accounted for 38% of the variance in counsellor burnout and 32% of the variance in counsellor STS. In the model of counsellor burnout, statistically significant variables included age, caseload, setting, COVID-19 anxiety, and trauma-informed supervision. For STS, statistically significant predictor variables were age, caseload, COVID-19 anxiety, and trauma-informed supervision. Implications of the findings for prelicensed counsellors, supervisors, and counselling researchers are discussed.

Keywords: COVID-19 anxiety; burnout; hierarchical regression; secondary traumatic stress; trauma-informed supervision.