Social isolation of professionals, and social exclusion of parents and their children with disabilities, are just two reasons out of many that cause burnout within the disability sector. In order to tackle, and help alleviate, the heavy personal and workplace stress and burnout within the disaibility sector, it is crucial to understand and recognise burnout in real-life scenarios. By doing so, we can then identify possible solutions. This is precisely why the first Multiplier Event of the Burnout FREE ECI Project - Early Childhood Intervention Services: Common Challenges of Professionals and Parents of Children with Disabilities - holds such significance. 

Offering a glimpse into the burnout phenomenon in Romania, members of Babeș-Bolyai University (UBB) shed light on its effects on parents and professionals working with children with disabilities in the country, as well as highlighting the relevant literature and resources available. 

Taking place on 22nd October 2022 in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, the Multiplier Event welcomed participants from all over the country with different areas of expertise: from therapists, early intervention workers, psychologists, and physiotherapists to special education teachers, parents, managers, and educators. 

The event was kicked off with a presentation by a lecturer who explored the burnout phenomenon through different case studies, personal experiences, and recommendations with a psychotherapeutic perspective. This provided the foundation for more detailed discussions by UBB team members that were divided thematically into the following: 

• Risk and protective factors in burnout 
• Burnout: prevention and intervention in a European context 
• Implications of the burnout phenomenon in Romanian literature 
• Presentation of the Burnout FREE ECI Project 

Here, the participants engaged in discussions, asked questions, and made contributions by sharing their own experiences and best practices. 

Practical details 

This first Multiplier Event of the Burnout FREE ECI Project took place under the Erasmus+ Programme (KA220-ADU-Cooperation partnerships in adult education), was coordinated by Amimoni, and was managed by the State Scholarships Foundation (IKY). 

Babeș-Bolyai University is the partner responsible for the first project result, which consisted of an extensive literature review regarding the conceptual framework of burnout at national, European, and international levels. They also produced the results from the assessment of the needs of professionals working with children in the disability sector, and parents with children with disabilities in relation to the burnout phenomenon. 

To learn more about the project visit their webpage.