4 - (OP12) Burnout Syndrome from the Perspective of Cognitive-behavioral Therapy

Burnout is not just “too much work.” It is a multidetermined syndrome with behavioral, cognitive, emotional, physiological, moral, and contextual drivers. This session reframes burnout through a contemporary CBT lens and converts that model into a modular, measurement-based protocol usable in outpatient, primary-care, and occupational health settings. Burnout has become a prevalent, debilitating occupational phenomenon, closely intertwined with workplace demands, mood disorders, and anxiety disorders. Recognized in ICD‑11 as an occupational phenomenon but not classified as a discrete disorder in DSM‑5‑TR, it sits at the intersection of organizational stressors and individual cognitive‑emotional vulnerabilities, often presenting with overlapping depressive and anxious symptomatology.

This session will explore burnout from the perspective of Cognitive‑Behavioral Therapy (CBT), including both “classic” CBT and third‑wave approaches such as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). Drawing on recent empirical findings, the session will describe how dysfunctional beliefs about performance, perfectionism, responsibility, and control contribute to the cycle of chronic work stress, emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced professional accomplishment. We will (1) differentiate burnout from major depression, anxiety disorders, trauma reactions, sleep disorders, and adjustment problems; (2) identify maintaining processes such as overcommitment, perfectionism, moral injury, role conflict, insomnia, cognitive load, and avoidance; and (3) demonstrate a stepwise intervention sequence that targets these processes while aligning with workplace realities and ethical boundaries.

Assessment emphasizes brief repeated measures: a burnout inventory (e.g., MBI or BAT) for syndrome severity; PHQ‑9 and GAD‑7 for mood and anxiety comorbidity; the Insomnia Severity Index; a two‑item moral‑distress screen; values and role‑clarity ratings; and additional risk screens as indicated. Treatment is typically deliverable in 8–12 sessions (stepped up or down). Core components include focused psychoeducation that normalizes stress physiology while rejecting “grind culture”; values clarification and role renegotiation; behavioral activation with recovery micro‑doses; stimulus control and sleep‑compression strategies; graded boundary‑setting exposures (for example, saying no, delegating, ending after‑hours email); cognitive interventions targeting control, responsibility, and failure beliefs; and relapse‑prevention plans that embed weekly recovery rituals. For moral injury, we add meaning‑making, reparative action planning, and compassion practices. For high cognitive load, we apply environmental engineering (attention budgets, meeting triage, decision hygiene).

By the end, participants will be able to (1) distinguish burnout from look‑alike conditions and justify a CBT case formulation; (2) select and sequence modular interventions to fit the client’s maintaining processes; and (3) implement measurement‑based care with ethical safeguards in workplace‑referred cases, including attention to limitations, contraindications, and referral pathways.