Secondary Stress, Burnout, and the Clergy

Abstract

Because little is known about secondary stress in clergy who counsel church members, the effects of burnout and vicarious traumatization in 35 members of the clergy were examined through personal interviews, the Traumatic Stress Institute Belief Scale (1997), and the Maslach Burnout Inventory (1986). Clergy interviews and test scores indicated their experience of stress was similar to stress reported by other mental health professionals, yet they spent less time counseling. Types of problems seen in pastoral counseling, consequences of empathic listening, and advice to young clergy are reported. The following topics are discussed: (a) the need for collaboration among clergy, mental health professionals, and professors; (b) the benefits of sharing information among collaborators such as the need for secular therapists to understand their religious client's viewpoints, and the desire of clergy participants to learn more about advanced counseling skills; (c) the recognition of secondary stress and burnout; and (d) the development of coping strategies.

Key Words:

• Pastoral Counseling
• Traumatic Stress Institute Belief Scale
• Maslach Burnout Inventory
• empathic listening
• mental health professionals
• coping strategies