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World J Clin Cases. Jun 26, 2020; 8(12): 2438-2447
Published online Jun 26, 2020. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v8.i12.2438
Clinical benefits of rational-emotive stress management therapy for job burnout and dysfunctional distress of special education teachers
Liziana N Onuigbo, Charity N Onyishi, Chiedu Eseadi
Liziana N Onuigbo, Charity N Onyishi, Chiedu Eseadi, Department of Educational Foundations, University of Nigeria, Nsukka 410001, Enugu State, Nigeria
Charity N Onyishi, Department of Educational Psychology, Faculty of Education, University of Johannesburg, Gauteng 2006, South Africa
Author contributions: Onuigbo LN, Onyishi CN and Eseadi C were responsible for the conception of the study; Onuigbo LN, Onyishi CN and Eseadi C were responsible for the design of the study, literature review and analysis, drafting and critical revision and editing, and approval of the final version.
Conflict-of-interest statement: No potential conflicts of interest. No financial support.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Charity N Onyishi, PhD, Post-doctoral Fellow, Department of Educational Pstchology, University of Johannesburg, Gauteng 2006, South Africa; Lecturer, Department of Educational Foundations, University of Nigeria Nsukka, P.M.B. 410001, Nsukka 410001, Enugu State, Nigeria. cnonyishi@uj.ac.za
Received: January 18, 2020
Peer-review started: January 18, 2020
First decision: April 8, 2020
Revised: May 20, 2020
Accepted: June 10, 2020
Article in press: June 10, 2020
Published online: June 26, 2020
Abstract

It has been observed that managing job burnout and dysfunctional distress constitute part of the major challenges among special educators, and that empirical data on the management of burnout and dysfunctional distress associated with the job of special education teachers are lacking in the literature. The current article discusses the clinical benefits of a rational-emotive stress-management therapy program in reducing the level of job burnout symptoms and dysfunctional distress in special education teachers, using evidence from a 2018 clinical trial study that reported the efficacy of this intervention. Results show the clinical benefits and implications of conducting a rational-emotive stress management intervention, and recommendations are made for future research.

Keywords: Clinical benefits, Dysfunctional distress, Job burnout, Rational-emotive behavior therapy, Rational-emotive stress management therapy, Special education teachers

Core tip: Some empirical researches have demonstrated how teachers’ well-being can be improved through psychotherapeutic interventions. But the current study explores the clinical benefits of a rational-emotive stress management therapy in reducing occupational burnout and dysfunctional distress of special education teachers as used in a study carried out in 2018. Clinical implications and directions for future research are also explored.