Effects of Burnout Treatmenton Cognitive Functions and onSubjective Well-Being

Sammanfattning: Burnout syndrome is increasingly affecting more people in Westerncountries. The question of treatment is important. In this study, we recruitedand investigated 27 burnout patients (16 women, 9 men) and 20 healthycontrols (8 men and 12 women) before and after an intervention. Theintervention consisted of a combination of both cognitive therapy, cognitivebehavioral therapy, individual counseling, and a form of mindfulness grouptherapy (centered around own body awareness) to see whether the treatmenthad an effect on cognitive functions possibly affected by burnout and onsubjective well-being. A battery of neuropsychological tests andquestionnaires were administered to all participants, once before treatment,and once after. All test scores were z transformed and reduced to compositevariables, measuring executive function, verbal memory function andpsychomotor function. No significant interaction effects between group andtest occasions were found. Treatment does not appear to influence cognitivefunctions affected in burnout. However, reports of subjective well-being asmeasured by questionnaires improved after treatment.