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Prevent Burnout & Secondary Trauma

Protect staff from burnout and trauma through reflective supervision, peer support, and organizational practices that promote well-being.

Burnout, compassion fatigue, and secondary trauma are serious risks in the behavioral health workforce. Left unaddressed, the challenges can harm everyone from patients to agencies through high turnover and decreased quality of care.

The World Health Organization defines burnout as the result of “unmanaged chronic workplace stress,” marked by exhaustion, cynicism, and reduced performance. But although most burnout advice is geared toward individuals, burnout is often a systemic issue. The good news: organizations have the power to make changes that protect staff and strengthen teams.

What Your Organization Can Do

Preventing burnout requires action at every level—individual, supervisory, and organizational. Start by embedding proactive support into your culture and daily operations.

Organizational Strategies to Promote Wellness

Offer mental health days
Provide flexible work hours
Hold regular supervisory check-ins
Set boundaries for after-hours communication
Encourage the use of paid time off
Organize staff retreats, wellness events, or team lunches
Allow remote or hybrid work options
Designate “no meeting” days to reduce cognitive load
Hold debriefs after critical incidents
Limit caseloads
Invest in professional development
Stock healthy snacks and drinks in shared spaces
Celebrate small wins regularly

Well-Being Toolkit of On-demand Resources

Duke Center for the Advancement of Well-Being Science (CAWS) developed evidence-based well-being tools designed for busy professionals.

Check out CAWS' well-being tools

Addressing Burnout at the Structural Level

The Integrated Workforce Trauma and Resilience (IWTR) Model reminds us that individual self-care isn’t enough. Structural interventions are essential to reducing inequity, chronic stress, and turnover. Consider:

Trauma-informed policies and regular peer debriefings
Equity-centered initiatives, such as leadership pipelines and transparent promotion practices
Reduced administrative burden, including streamlined documentation
Retention supports, such as loan forgiveness, workforce development funding, and culturally relevant training

These approaches help build resilience across the workforce.

Take a Systems Approach

Using a socio-ecological lens, organizations can align interventions across multiple levels:

Individual: Mindfulness training, stress reduction tools, self-care resources
Interpersonal: Peer support, mentorship, reflective supervision
Organizational: Caseload tracking, adequate staffing, positive work culture
Community/Societal: Policy advocacy, cross-sector licensing, sustainable funding

You don’t have to do it all at once. Start with one layer and build from there.

Measure Burnout and Track Progress

Measure burnout and track progress

Dr. Natalie Engelbrecht, BA, MSc, ND, RP, and Team provide an overview of CBI – including subscales, scoring, and interpretation – as well as the assessment itself. The authors also provide discussion on the intersection of the CBI and autism.

Learn more about the CBI and take the assessment

You can’t improve what you don’t measure. Use a free tool like the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (CBI) to assess personal, work-related, and client-related burnout in your team.

Then use this data to spark honest conversations and adjust your supports over time.

Sources

Ballout, Suha (2025). Trauma, Mental Health Workforce Shortages, and Health Equity. Read article
World Health Organization (2019). Burn-out: An occupational phenomenon. WHO resource
Habeger, Amy (2022). Promoting Burnout Prevention Through a Socio-Ecological Lens. Read article
Prevent Employee Burnout: How Organizations & Supervisors Can Support Employee Well-Being and Retention, Nonprofit Learning Lab. View resource