{"id":6036,"date":"2026-03-10T12:53:38","date_gmt":"2026-03-10T16:53:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/danielsen\/?p=6036"},"modified":"2026-03-10T12:53:38","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T16:53:38","slug":"forthcoming-article-on-religious-leader-trauma-burnout-and-well-being","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/danielsen\/2026\/03\/10\/forthcoming-article-on-religious-leader-trauma-burnout-and-well-being\/","title":{"rendered":"Forthcoming article on religious leader trauma, burnout, and well-being"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The Danielsen Institute&#8217;s cross-sectional study on burnout, trauma, and well-being among clergy and chaplains has been accepted for publication with <em>Pastoral Psychology<\/em>. Dr. Elise Ji Young Choe led this team project which was funded by our Peale Foundation grant. Findings reveal concerning rates of PTSD and burnout symptoms among these leaders but also moderate levels of well-being which likely reflects the meaning many find in their work. Clergy were somewhat more symptomatic than chaplains and women leaders more than men. Differentiation of self and self-compassion emerged as protective factors, while self-sacrificing tendencies and inadequate compensation were risk factors. This study highlights some of the important issues emphasized in the Institute&#8217;s CHRYSALIS program and other preventative formation efforts in seminary contexts.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/danielsen\/files\/2022\/12\/Pastoral-Psych.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"92\" height=\"139\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-4973\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Choe, E.J.Y., Crabtree, S.A., Hydinger, K.R., Stein, L.B., &amp; Sandage, S.J. (in press). Trauma, burnout, and well-being among chaplains and clergy in the United States. <em>Pastoral Psychology.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Abstract<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Religious\u00a0and spiritual (R\/S) chaplains and clergy (CAC)\u00a0are often exposed to high levels\u00a0of distress in the systems and communities where they serve as leaders\u00a0and spiritual authorities. Previous\u00a0research has shown CAC to be at heightened risk for negative work impacts. However, the extant literature predominantly centers\u00a0the experiences of cis-gendered male clergy\u00a0and, in particularly in the United States\u00a0(U.S.),\u00a0is limited to specific denominations or geographical regions. Also, many studies have not simultaneously considered risk <em>and<\/em>\u00a0protective factors that may contribute to distress and well-being\u00a0among this population. To address these research gaps, we surveyed CAC\u00a0from across the U.S.\u00a0on their experiences of distress and well-being, as well as personal capacities that might influence these outcomes. Results suggest that, on average, CAC\u00a0report concerningly high levels\u00a0of traumatic stress\u00a0symptoms\u00a0and burnout\u00a0but maintain\u00a0moderate levels of well-being. However, person-centered analyses identified\u00a0four distinct\u00a0groups of CAC\u00a0on indicators of traumatic stress, burnout, well-being, and personal factors likely contributing\u00a0to overall functioning.\u00a0Implications, limitations, and future directions are also discussed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Danielsen Institute&#8217;s cross-sectional study on burnout, trauma, and well-being among clergy and chaplains has been accepted for publication with Pastoral Psychology. Dr. Elise Ji Young Choe led this team project which was funded by our Peale Foundation grant. Findings reveal concerning rates of PTSD and burnout symptoms among these leaders but also moderate levels [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19811,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[716],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/danielsen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6036"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/danielsen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/danielsen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/danielsen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19811"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/danielsen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6036"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/danielsen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6036\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6037,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/danielsen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6036\/revisions\/6037"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/danielsen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6036"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/danielsen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6036"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/danielsen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6036"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}