Exploring counsellor burnout and personal accomplishment in organizations that empower abused women

Violence in South Africa has reached epidemic proportions. Violence against women is one area in which this social undercurrent continuously plays itself out. People Opposing Women Abuse (POWA) and Rape Crisis, Cape Town (RCCT) are two organizations that use lay counsellors to focus specifically on counselling women who have endured rape and domestic violence. Burnout is widely recognized as a consequence of this helping profession. This quantitative study comprised of 26 female counsellors from POWA and RCCT, who completed questionnaires that included demographic data, the Maslach Burnout Inventory to measure levels of burnout and personal accomplishment, and the COPE that measures different coping styles. The statistical analysis used was Pearson’s correlation t-tests and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). Results showed that this small sample group do not feel burned out, but rather have a sense of personal accomplishment

Publisher: University of Johannesburg
Year of Publication: 2012