title: [Understanding the term burnout in psychiatry and psychotherapy].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Currently there is much debate about the concept of burnout and its use as a diagnostic entity. The aim of the present survey was to present the view of mental health professionals towards the concept of burnout.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 300 mental health professionals were surveyed using a structured questionnaire.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The majority of participants see burnout as a state of exhaustion which constitutes a risk factor for later developing a mental disorder. Participants reported that from their point of view typical triggers for burnout exist while symptoms overlap to a great extent with depression. Psychotherapy as well as interventions at the workplace are regarded as promising interventions; however, in the clinical routine only a minority of participants actually contacted the patients' workplace. In the participants workplace settings most Burnout-Patients suffered from a diagnosis defined in ICD 10 but judged themselves to be suffering from burnout.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Burnout-Patients in mental health settings differ from the picture currently drawn in the media, probably because Burnout-Patients reach the mental health sector only after already having developed a manifest psychiatric disorder.
authors.affiliation: Klinik und Poliklinik für Psychiatrie und Psychotherapie, Technische Universität München, Möhlstr. 26, 81675 München, Deutschland. j.hamann@lrz.tum.de
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hamann
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Parchmann
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mendel
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bühner
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Reichhart
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Kissling
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D002055:Burnout, Professional / Q000145:classification* / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000145:classification* / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D011570:Psychiatry / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D009626:Terminology as Topic; D017132:Workplace / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*