ABSTRACT
Self-care is a critical competency for graduate counseling students (GCS), essential to their wellness and professional functioning. However, intensive academic and clinical demands often impede self-care engagement, elevating burnout risk. Using the job demands–resources model, this study examined how personal resources, academic environmental demands, and academic environmental resources predict GCS’ engagement in self-care. Ecological systems theory informed the hierarchical entry of variables into the regression analysis, which drew on survey data from 217 GCS enrolled in CACREP-accredited programs across the United States. Personal resources initially predicted self-care engagement; however, when burnout, an indicator of the cumulative impact of academic demands, was included in the model, personal resources were no longer significant, and burnout negatively predicted self-care engagement. Burnout emerged as the strongest negative predictor of self-care. Findings highlight the persistence of burnout despite the presence of resources, underscoring the need for early interventions and structural changes in counselor education programs to alleviate systemic pressures and promote sustainable self-care practices.