Presentation Type
Oral Presentation
Category
Social Sciences/Humanities
Abstract/Artist Statement
Title: Training and Utility of Mindfulness among Practicing School Psychologists
Purpose: School psychologists work with students, teachers, and parents to address issues such as learning, social development, and emotion regulation. Unfortunately, there has been a shortage of school psychologists within the field for the past two decades, and this is projected to continue until at least 2025 (Castillo, et al., 2014). Research has shown up to 90% of school psychologists report experiencing high levels of burnout (Schilling et al., 2018). However, research indicates that mindfulness is counter to experiences of burnout among classroom teachers (Jennings & Greenburg, 2009) and rural mental health providers (Samios, 2018). Due to the high rate of burnout and implications for mindfulness to address this experience among school psychologists, further research is needed to explore how mindfulness is used among these professionals.
Method: A survey focused on burnout, use of mindfulness-based practices, and training in mindfulness among school psychologists is being distributed through state associations for school psychology. The survey takes approximately 15 minutes to complete, with participants being given the option to enter a raffle to win a gift certificate for contributing to this research. The survey is distributed in partnership with state organizations and any school psychologist currently working within schools is eligible to participate in the study. Individuals taking the survey will be asked to report their level of training and use of mindfulness-based therapies within their career and personal life. They will also be asked to reflect upon their level of burnout. This project uses quantitative and qualitative measures to provide convergent information about the research questions.
Originality: No current research has investigated the use of mindfulness to address the high level of burnout among school psychologists. Previous research has on mindfulness and burnout has centered on professionals in different specialties and must be shown effective for this population before recommendation for widespread use.
Significance: If results confirm that those who use mindfulness also experience lower levels of burnout, the implications could help address the high rates of burnout among professionals in this field. It is possible that school psychologists show a different trend for their use and training in mindfulness-based interventions. The current study is designed to address this query and push the field of mindfulness-based interventions forward to include a wider range of application. By exploring the amount of training and use of mindfulness-based interventions, the present study hopes to provide a foundation for future research to examine effective interventions for school psychologists experiencing burnout and the implementation factors that aid in school-based mindfulness interventions.
Mentor Name
Jacqueline Brown
Mindfulness among Practicing School Psychologists
Title: Training and Utility of Mindfulness among Practicing School Psychologists
Purpose: School psychologists work with students, teachers, and parents to address issues such as learning, social development, and emotion regulation. Unfortunately, there has been a shortage of school psychologists within the field for the past two decades, and this is projected to continue until at least 2025 (Castillo, et al., 2014). Research has shown up to 90% of school psychologists report experiencing high levels of burnout (Schilling et al., 2018). However, research indicates that mindfulness is counter to experiences of burnout among classroom teachers (Jennings & Greenburg, 2009) and rural mental health providers (Samios, 2018). Due to the high rate of burnout and implications for mindfulness to address this experience among school psychologists, further research is needed to explore how mindfulness is used among these professionals.
Method: A survey focused on burnout, use of mindfulness-based practices, and training in mindfulness among school psychologists is being distributed through state associations for school psychology. The survey takes approximately 15 minutes to complete, with participants being given the option to enter a raffle to win a gift certificate for contributing to this research. The survey is distributed in partnership with state organizations and any school psychologist currently working within schools is eligible to participate in the study. Individuals taking the survey will be asked to report their level of training and use of mindfulness-based therapies within their career and personal life. They will also be asked to reflect upon their level of burnout. This project uses quantitative and qualitative measures to provide convergent information about the research questions.
Originality: No current research has investigated the use of mindfulness to address the high level of burnout among school psychologists. Previous research has on mindfulness and burnout has centered on professionals in different specialties and must be shown effective for this population before recommendation for widespread use.
Significance: If results confirm that those who use mindfulness also experience lower levels of burnout, the implications could help address the high rates of burnout among professionals in this field. It is possible that school psychologists show a different trend for their use and training in mindfulness-based interventions. The current study is designed to address this query and push the field of mindfulness-based interventions forward to include a wider range of application. By exploring the amount of training and use of mindfulness-based interventions, the present study hopes to provide a foundation for future research to examine effective interventions for school psychologists experiencing burnout and the implementation factors that aid in school-based mindfulness interventions.