Date of Conferral

3-21-2025

Date of Award

March 2025

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Counselor Education and Supervision

Advisor

Katarzyna Peoples

Abstract

Mental health counselors working with traumatized clients in community mental health agencies may develop vicarious trauma resulting in job burnout which further results in high turnover rates when counselors leave. High turnover results in high costs for the organization in recruiting, hiring, and training new counselors and leads to a decrease in the quality of care that clients receive. Reducing vicarious trauma and job burnout in counselors by providing training in evidence-based trauma treatment modalities could reduce these negative impacts. The purpose of this quantitative, cross-sectional study was to examine whether there was a statistically significant impact on a counselor’s intent to leave their community mental health organization based on the level of trauma training a counselor has. Constructivist self-development theory formed the foundation of this study as it explains the effects of burnout on mental health counselors and how training may reduce the negative impact of turnover. Data was collected using survey methodology including a demographic questionnaire and the modified MOAQ scale. A sample of 89 licensed and prelicensed mental health counselors, social workers, psychologists, and marriage and family therapists was used. The results of a one-way analysis of variance indicated that there was not a statistically significant difference across different trauma training levels, F(2, 86) = .198, p = .821. Trauma training is just one factor for community mental health agencies to consider when looking for ways to reduce turnover. Other factors should be explored in addition to trauma training. This study contributes to positive social change in that it encourages community mental health agencies to reduce counselor turnover to better serve marginalized populations.

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