The Effect of Mindfulness Meditation on School Counselors' Levels of Stress and Burnou

Burnout is a state of chronic, oppressive, severe and relentless stress that occurs across all dimensions. Educators and mental health professionals are among the top stress-inducing professions. National surveys estimate the incidence of burnout among mental health professionals is 39%. As a blend of mental health counselor and educator, school counselors experience unique stressors leading to burnout, including role conflict, role ambiguity, task overload, long hours, unsatisfactory compensation, lack of social support, number of students served, and assignment of non-counseling duties. There are external remedies for stress and burnout including mentoring, affiliation with professional organizations, and support of family and friends. Mindfulness meditation has proven to be effective as an internal remedy in ameliorating the negative effects of stress and burnout.;This study examined the effects of a 28-day daily mindfulness meditation program with school counselors who are experiencing stress and burnout using a purposeful sampling of school counselors in Delaware. Study findings indicated that Delaware school counselors who are experiencing high levels of stress and burnout, showed a decrease in their levels of stress and burnout following a 28-day daily mindfulness meditation program. This decrease proved to be statistically significant only in the Exhaustion subscale of the Counselor Burnout Inventory. Further study is indicated to determine if other factors may prove to be of statistical significance.