Role of counsellor supervision in management of burnout among counsellors in Kenya

Counselling is a helping profession which involves caring for people with complex psychological and emotional needs. Working closely with people in pain, agony, grief, bereavement, trauma and other complex psycho-social needs often infects the counsellor with a patient’s sadness, a condition often referred to as psychic poisoning or vicarious traumatization. This leads to a form of stress called burnout, a state of emotional depletion, lost ideals and purpose. Despite the levels of burnout that counsellors are predisposed to rarely is attention devoted to counsellors’ psychological wellbeing. Major associations for counsellors all over the world are in agreement that burnout is inevitable and for this reason they make counsellor supervision a compulsory part of their code of ethics. Without adequate supervision, counsellors suffer burnout, may get impaired and fail to contribute optimally to the client. This paper investigates the role of counsellor supervision in managing burnout among counsellors in Kenya. A few suggestions of how counsellor supervision may help in managing burnout are also included in this paper.