A crisis of exhaustion in the game of escalation: a qualitative exploration of the consequences of occupational burnout among addiction therapists.

Occupational burnout in individual therapists has serious implications for their patients and colleagues. It can also lead to a reduction in the quality and ultimately the effectiveness of the treatment of alcohol use disorders leading to a negative social image of the treatment facility and thus creating a further barrier to treatment for people with alcohol-related problems. Furthermore, the complexity of the individual experience of occupational burnout and a cause-and-effect chain forms a loop, deepening the severity of its consequences.