Burnout and intersubjectivity: A psychoanalytical study from a Lacanian perspective

This article examines the intersubjective process connected with burnout. On the basis of qualitative research data we investigate to what extent Lacan's model of intersubjectivity enables us to understand the burnout process and to differentiate between people who suffer from burnout and those who do not. We first outline Lacan's theory of intersubjectivity through a discussion of the dialectical master/slave relationship and the difference between imaginary and symbolic interactions. This model is then tested against the interview material of 30 special educators drawn from the results of a wider random sample survey of 765 respondents in response to a burnout questionnaire. We found that Lacan's distinction between imaginary and symbolic functioning allows us to make a difference between high and low scorers. High scorers - among whom two subtypes can be distinguished - function mainly in an imaginary way. Among low scorers we similarly found two subgroups - one that interacts symbolically and one that interacts imaginarily, but in which latter case environmental factors are found to have a protective function.