Development of a Transactional Analysis Diagnostic Tool for Burnout with a Case Study Application in Switzerland

Abstract

Referring to the addition of burnout into the ICD-11, the authors review the literature and propose a combination of transactional analysis concepts with systemic-psychodynamic, cognitive-behavioural and logotherapy perspectives to generate a three-dimensional heptagon in which each summit represents a dimension of the burnout condition: cognitive, behavioural, motivational, emotional, somatic, relational and existential. They indicate how here-and-now symptoms are representations of there-and-then experiences and demonstrate how these elements may be represented within the script system developed by O’Reilly-Knapp and Erskine (2010). They go on to combine this with Freudenberger and North’s (1992) 12 steps model into a simplified five phase model of Honeymoon, Suppression, Denial, Dehumanisation and Burnout. Based on this material, they have developed a proxy-rated Burnout Assessment Chart (BAC) and a semi-structured Burnout Assessment Interview (BAI). A case study is then included of this material being applied with a 56-year-old male client in Switzerland. Whilst the limitations of this single case are recognised, the authors propose that the material can be used in developing a manual for working with burnout, with the different phases making it applicable to the various fields of TA application.