TELETHERAPY FATIGUE AND EMOTIONAL EXHAUSTION IN ONLINE COUNSELLING PRACTICE: EXAMINING WORKLOAD, SCREEN EXPOSURE, CLIENT VOLUME, AND THE MODERATING ROLE OF COPING STRATEGIES

Background: The rapid expansion of teletherapy services, accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, has significantly intensified the occupational demands on online counsellors and psychotherapists. Sustained engagement in virtual counselling environments, characterised by high workloads, extended screen exposure, high client volumes, and technological stressors, has been increasingly associated with teletherapy fatigue and emotional exhaustion. Despite the global scaling of digital mental health services, systematic empirical investigation of these occupational hazards among teletherapy practitioners remains limited. Objectives: This study examined the effect of teletherapy workload on emotional exhaustion; assessed whether prolonged screen exposure contributes to teletherapy fatigue; determined the relationship between client volume and therapist burnout; and investigated the moderating role of coping strategies on emotional exhaustion among online counsellors. Methods: A cross-sectional survey research design was employed. A sample of 231 respondents was drawn from a population of 300 teletherapy practitioners using the Taro Yamane (1967) formula. Data were collected using a validated structured questionnaire and analysed through descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, and multiple regression at a 5% significance level. Results: All four null hypotheses were rejected. Teletherapy workload significantly predicted emotional exhaustion (β = 0.624, p < .05). Prolonged screen exposure significantly contributed to teletherapy fatigue (β = 0.591, p < .05). Client volume was significantly related to burnout among virtual therapists (β = 0.573, p < .05). Coping strategies significantly and negatively moderated emotional exhaustion (β = −0.647, p < .05), demonstrating the strongest effect in the model. Conclusions: Teletherapy fatigue and emotional exhaustion are significant occupational hazards for online counsellors, driven by workload, screen overexposure, and high client volumes. Structured coping strategies represent the most effective protective mechanism. Systemic interventions targeting workload regulation, digital boundary-setting, and institutional support for counsellor well-being are urgently needed in virtual care environments