Burnout in the Child and Youth Care Field: An Autoethnographic Response

Abstract

Burnout is a prevalent concern in the field of Child and Youth Care. However, there is little research attached to burnout and Child and Youth Care Practitioners (CYCPs) specifically. It is often coupled with research that includes other professions that work with young people, such as Early Childhood Educators. A study done by the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) found that, post-COVID-19, burnout among Child and Youth Workers and Early Childhood Educators reached a “national crisis” (CMHA, 2022). The study suggested that circumstances like low wages, understaffing and emotional strain caused burnout. I am a Child and Youth Care Practitioner (CYCP) who will use an auto-ethnography approach to explore my experiences as a camp counsellor working with young people who have epilepsy and other exceptionalities. In this exploration, I revisited my undergraduate thesis research project, as well as existing literature on burnout, to further understand how factors such as high demand and under-resourced environments lead to burnout. This paper highlights three key themes:

• behaviour uncertainty and emotional load,
• chaotic workload and role strain, and
• the organizational gaps in supporting CYCPs.

This paper aims to show how everyday practice conditions for anyone working with young people can contribute to burnout and how systemic change will support CYCPs’ best practices.