ABSTRACT
Stress and burnout have been found to contribute significantly to the poor job satisfaction and retention rates of speech-language pathologists (Harris, Prater, Dyches, & Heath, 2009; Tatham, Cough, & Maxwell, 2006). These findings have implications for the future of the profession, which relies on an established professional cohort that is responsible for mentoring new graduates, creating a research culture, and consolidating the position of the profession in the community to ensure that critical speech and language therapy services are available for the growing number of persons needing these services (Whitehouse, Hird, & Cocks, 2007). For these reasons it is critical for both students and qualified speech-language pathologists and their employers to be aware of the causes, signs, and symptoms of stress and burnout as well as the self-care and prevention strategies that can be adopted to enhance health, resilience, and well-being. The story of “Terry” illustrates many of the issues addressed in this chapter.
