The process of building resilience in the IAPT Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner role: a qualitative grounded theory study

Background A range of competing demands places psychological therapists at risk of developing burnout, which impacts on them personally and professionally. Research has highlighted that resilience can act as a protective factor against the development of therapist burnout. Currently, however, there is limited understanding of the resilience-building processes in psychological therapists. Method This thesis portfolio contains a systematic review and an empirical paper. The systematic review synthesised and appraised qualitative literature exploring the experiences and impact of therapist burnout, as well as their coping strategies. The empirical paper developed a qualitative grounded theory of the resilience-building process in Psychological Wellbeing Practitioners (PWPs) working in the Increasing Access to Psychological Therapy (IAPT) programme. Results The findings of the systematic review showed that burnout can have a severe impact on therapists’ personal and professional lives, blurring the boundaries between these two areas. Systemic and organisational factors were identified as the most significant contributing factors to therapist burnout. Therapists engage in individual and systemic strategies to prevent and reduce burnout. The empirical paper found that PWPs develop resilience through the connection with their values and appraising work-related challenges in relation to those values, promoting the use of effective coping strategies. Conclusion The systematic review draws attention to how therapists experience burnout and the wide range of influences that affect its development and management. The empirical paper puts emphasis on the values-based appraisal of work adversity and the use of effective coping strategies to enhance resilience. Overall, this thesis stresses the need to capture the complex nature of burnout and resilience, and the processes underlying these constructs. Further research is needed to further explore these areas and develop a deeper understanding of these processes