Assessment of psychological flow as a predictor of psychological exhaustion among educational counselor using the Flow State Scale and the Maslach Burnout Inventory–Educators Survey: A cross-sectional study

ABSTRACT Background: With the demanding nature of educational counseling, understanding the interplay between psychological states such as psychological flow and psychological exhaustion is crucial for counselor well-being. Previous research has highlighted the defensive role of a heightened psychological flow in mitigating psychological burnout emphasizing the need to explore this relationship. The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between psychological flow and psychological exhaustion among educational counselors using the Flow State Scale (FSS) and the Maslach Burnout Inventory–Educators Survey (MBI-ES). Methods: A total of 30 educational counselors were purposively (randomly) selected ensuring diversity across educational settings. The FSS scores measured the psychological flow, whereas the MBI-ES scores assessed the psychological exhaustion among the participants. Demographic data, counseling experience, and educational backgrounds were collected. Karl Pearson’s correlation coefficient test and multiple regression analysis were applied for the comparison of the data obtained. Results: The participants demonstrated diverse demographic profiles with a balanced gender distribution and varied counseling experiences and educational backgrounds. Furthermore, Pearson’s correlation analysis revealed negative correlation between the mean FSS scores (psychological flow) and the mean MBI-ES scores (psychological exhaustion) for the total sample, as well as in case of both the male and female respondents individually, indicating an inverse relationship between psychological flow and psychological exhaustion in the sample studied. Conclusion: The present study provides valuable insights into the inverse relationship between psychological flow and psychological exhaustion among educational counselors. The observations made in the present study have practical implications for interventions aimed at enhancing counselors’ psychological well-being by fostering positive psychological states. However, in future, more longitudinal studies are needed to establish causal relationships because of the cross-sectional nature of the present study.