Risk and protective factors for burnout among psychologists and neuropsychologists: A scoping review.

Healthcare professions are emotionally demanding, requiring special skills in caring and empathy.In the healthcare field, many professions have been linked to burnout, notably through compassion fatigue.Several studies have attempted to determine what factors influence burnout among healthcare workers in general, however few focused exclusively on psychologists (PSYs) and neuropsychologists (NPSYs).This scoping review aims to better understand the determinants of burnout among PSYs and NPSYs specifically.It also aims to identify which factors allow PSYs and NPSYs to adapt and thrive at work despite the difficulties those professions bring.This research focused on burnout, job satisfaction, and well-being at work.Among the most notable results obtained from 27 scientific studies are: 1) PSYs and NPSYs are generally very satisfied at work despite high burnout rates; 2) individual factors and the work environment impact the mental health of PSYs and NPSYs; 3) self-care behaviors are favorable for job satisfaction, and they also decrease the risk of burnout.In addition, it appears that a feeling of autonomy has an important influence on burnout symptoms which is consistent with self-determination theory.In sum, this scoping review reveals that factors such as selfcompassion, work-life balance, control over work and administrative tasks can reduce the risk of burnout as well as improve job satisfaction and mental health among PSYs and NPSYs. Public Significance statementThe results of the present study suggest that self-care is an important variable in both preventing burnout and promoting job satisfaction at work.Given the importance of psychologists' and neuropsychologists' service to the public, it is deemed essential that they take care of their own mental health while caring for others.It is also essential that the work environment allow these professionals to meet their psychological needs in the workplace.Recently, the workload of healthcare professionals has been severely burdened by the COVID-19 pandemic and has led to increased psychological distress among PSYs and NPSYs (Marra et al., 2023;Trombello et al., 2022).A systematic review of forty studies revealed that, on average, more than 54% of PSYs experienced moderate to high levels of burnout symptoms (Simionato & Simpson, 2018).Similarly, a recent study revealed high levels of burnout symptoms in more than half of NPSYs (Marra et al., 2023). What is burnout?Burnout was first described in 1974 by Freudenberger.He defined it as a state of physical and mental fatigue caused by one's work life.In 2019, the World Health Organization defined burnout as: "[…] a syndrome conceptualized as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed."Among instruments designed to measure burnout, the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI; Maslach & Jackson, 1986) is still widely used in research.It identifies three dimensions of burnout (Leiter & Maslach, 1988): 1) emotional exhaustion (feeling overloaded at work), 2) depersonalization (difficulties in feeling emotions towards colleagues/clients), and 3) a reduced sense of personal accomplishment (feeling inefficient at work).Among PSYs, emotional exhaustion is the most common cause of burnout (Rupert et al., 2009).Another frequently used instrument is the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (CBI; Kristensen et al., 2005), developed to address limitations and criticisms of the MBI, which primarily applies to human service occupations.The CBI defines three types of burnout: 1) personal burnout (individual's overall fatigue and exhaustion), 2) work-related burnout (fatigue and exhaustion related to one's job), and 3) client-related burnout (fatigue and exhaustion related to clients or co-workers; Kristensen et al., 2005).