Editorial: Balint and burnout: A remedy for our time?

Abstract

When psychiatrist Herbert Freudenberger popularized the concept of “burnout” in the 1970s, in no way could he have anticipated the overwhelming impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the medical profession and the population at large. In his work with addicts, he described burnout as “becoming exhausted by making excessive demands on energy, strength, or resources” in the workplace. Frontline workers today acknowledge that the definition applies as well to coping with the ravages of the pandemic...only more so! In Freudenberger’s day, remedies for personal burnout included “fixing the healthcare system,” “clarifying costs of procedures,” “simplifying coding,” “promoting legislation,” “facilitating decision-making without outside intrusion,” and perhaps...while awaiting these time-delayed changes... “taking a vacation.” The idea of sharing one’s grief and complaints with others in Balint-like groups was not offered. The idea of Balint Groups began with Michael and Enid Balint in England in the 1950s in a kind of quasi-crisis. After the war, exhausted physicians were seeking ways to become re-acclimated to general medical practice, and the newly founded British National Health Service was looking for ways to care for a weary population. Groups of general practitioners organized by the Balints seemed a reasonable, if small, way to address these challenges. Opportunity was presented to a number of these overburdened post-war practitioners to come together in experimental groups to enhance sharing of clinical case experiences and to bolster mutual resilience. The experiment proved effective; Balint groups began to spring up around the world for tired, stressed, even exhausted