| This dissertation aimed to explore the work experiences of psychologists employed in college counseling centers and highlight factors contributing to staff turnover and retention. In this exploratory study, ten staff psychology clinicians were interviewed. In addition to looking for themes about the nature of the work experience for psychologists in this setting, several common rewards and challenges emerged which were connected to the particular population and university context. For descriptive purposes, participants were also surveyed using the self-report Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI). The qualitative results were analyzed through Grounded Theory Methodology. The participants' responses highlighted the many institutional levels and players that interact in the university setting to determine the experiences of psychologists in counseling centers. Tremendous energy was reportedly spent to manage the volume of students wanting to be seen at the counseling center and "stay afloat" in the face of limited staff resources. Overall participants found role overload, competing institutional goals, shifts in the nature of counseling center services, and limited opportunities for advancement to be the major challenges of practicing in the university setting. Despite the challenges of the organizational context of the university as a treatment setting that were discussed, potent rewards of the work were reportedly role and task variety, feeling a strong connection and support with other staff, witnessing rapid change from the students, and having a stable income. Participants' responses on the MBI survey were consistent with how they described their work experience; they felt a strong sense of personal connection and passion for the students, felt that their work had a positive, visible impact, but were exhausted by the demand for services and the mismatch in resources. Major themes that emerged from the interviews closely aligned with organizational factors contributing to burnout found in the literature, most specifically in Cherniss (1981; 1995) and Maslach and Leiter (1997). Implications for university administrators and future research, such as clarifying the competing institutional goals and the role and scope of counseling center services, are suggested with the aim of contributing to the knowledge that could be utilized to increase retention of psychologists. |
