A randomized controlled trial of an adapted group cognitive-behavioral therapy for burned-out teachers

ABSTRACT

Objective

Reports regarding experienced teacher burnout in public schools are becoming a concerning issue. Although several therapeutic interventions have been proposed to alleviate burnout symptoms, CBT programs appear to be more practical with large effects on burnout. However, there is limited research investigating the effects of an adapted group-based CBT program on teacher burnout.

Methods

The Maslach Burnout Inventory-Educators Survey was administered to 201 teachers working in public schools in Iran. Initial analyses indicated burnout symptoms in 66 teachers, who were randomly assigned to either a CBT treatment program or a waitlist group. The treatment group attended an adapted group therapy program with various therapeutic coping strategies, cognitive restructuring techniques, and applied relaxation training to facilitate cognitive and behavior change. Multilevel modeling was used to estimate treatment effects on teachers’ burnout symptoms.

Results

The results indicated the positive effects of the treatment program in improving teachers’ emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced personal accomplishment, which remained significantly elevated at a 6-month follow-up of the intervention. However, treatment effects and improvements in outcome measures were larger for novice teachers. Accordingly, teaching experience moderated the relationship between the group conditions and burnout levels.

Conclusions

The findings from the study suggest this culturally-adapted CBT intervention may contribute to overcoming occupational stressors and reducing teachers’ burnout, which is critically important for sustaining the workforce.

Keywords:

• burnout
• cognitive-behavioral therapy
• group therapy
• teachers
• public schools

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Ethics Approval

We further confirm that any aspect of the work covered in this manuscript that has involved human patients has been conducted with the ethical approval of all relevant bodies and that such approvals are acknowledged within the manuscript.

All procedures performed in this study involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Correction Statement

This article has been corrected with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.