Depressive symptoms, burnout and the impact of events in non-professional volunteer counselors in Durban, South Africa

Abstract

Volunteer counselors from a non-governmental organization (NGO) providing crisis intervention, a safe-house, liason with the police, legal services and social workers to survivors of interpersonal violence based in Durban , South Africa agreed to participate. They were unpaid and had received basic in-service counseling training but no formal mental health training. The University of KwaZulu-Natal Research Ethics Committee provided ethical clearance and participants signed informed consent. This study indicates that some lay counselors experience depressive symptoms and burnout and that RPA is associated with avoidance and intrusion coping mechanisms which may impact on client care. The study hopes to create awareness among organizations using lay counselors on the impact that working with survivors of violence can have on their staff. It is recommended that organizational support such as reduced or varied work load, supervision, compulsory debriefing and stress management should be offered to limit negative outcomes. Failure to do so may lead to compromised quality of client care and may impact on organizational costs such as staff turnover. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved)