Date
8-29-2025
Department
School of Behavioral Sciences
Degree
Doctor of Philosophy in Counselor Education and Supervision (PhD)
Chair
Kristy Ford
Keywords
burnout, posttraumatic growth, meaningful work, suffering, wellness, experiential acceptance, acceptance and commitment therapy
Disciplines
Social and Behavioral Sciences
Recommended Citation
Weil, Thomas E. Jr., "Perceptions of Divine Intervention in Suffering Impact on Meaningful Work Mediated by Posttraumatic Growth" (2025). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 7366.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/7366
Abstract
Burnout is a costly phenomenon, and creating a comprehensive model of wellness to increase resiliency to burnout is a complex task worth the endeavor (Eckleberry-Hunt et al., 2009). The negative correlation between self-care and burnout is well-known (Shanafelt et al., 2020). Models such as the psychological capital model (Youssef‐Morgan & Luthans, 2015) have provided insight into the relationship. Several findings since the inception of the psychological capital model indicate that other phenomena are involved in increasing resistance to counselor burnout. The positive relationship between meaningful work and counselor burnout resistance is well documented through peer-reviewed literature. Mental health professionals experience a distinct encounter with trauma, both vicarious and personal. Caseloads with clients who experience high levels of trauma are correlated with higher burnout rates. The current study seeks to empower counselors to become more resistant to burnout with client populations with low outcome expectations. Through the lens of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Relational Frame Theory (RFT), the proposed study seeks to identify how mental health counselors utilize their views of suffering to produce Posttraumatic growth (PTG) and increase meaningful work. This research consists of a multivariate covariance (MANCOVA) analysis of data obtained from practicing mental health professionals. The regression models revealed no direct relationship between clinicians’ view of suffering and meaningful work. The sample population appeared to have high perceptions of meaningful work and implications for mental health professionals and future research are addressed.
