Abstract
The purpose of this study was to determine if psychotherapists differed on their reported levels of burnout and empathy based on their own adult attachment styles. Three assessment tools were employed. The Experience in Close Relationships (ECR-R) scale was used to measure adult attachment, The Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) was used to measure empathy, and the Burnout Measure Short Version (BMS) was used to measure burnout. A total of 78 psychotherapists (22 male and 56 female) participated in this study. Ages ranged from 22 to 65. The field of psychotherapy was represented by 9 Counseling Ph.D.s (11.5%), 11 Clinical Ph.D.s (14.1), 12 Clinical Psy.D.s (15.4%), 1 M.D. (1.3%), 31 Master's Degrees (39%) and 14 identified as "Others" (17.9%) with 3 identified as Ph.D. or Psy.D. students. It was also predicted that differences in attachment security would be reported by psychotherapists who had a license vs. those who did not. Finally, it was predicted that attachment security would play a role in reported empathy and levels of burnout. Overall, the data revealed that attachment security does seem to be related to licensure and reported levels of burnout among psychotherapists, but not to reported empathy. Some limitations of this study included low sample size (N=78) and the absence of a job satisfaction and job performance measure.