Facilitators of Job Satisfaction in Experienced School Psychologists

The United States’ behavioral health workforce continues to face shortages amid rising demand (Beck, Manderscheid, & Buerhaus, 2018). High turnover among school psychologists contributes to service gaps for students, as an estimated 27 million Americans with mental illness go untreated, at significant cost to individuals and society. Research attributes these shortages in part to high turnover among mental health professionals, including school psychologists (Boccio, Weisz, & Lefkowitz, 2016). Proposed solutions have included increasing job satisfaction and organizational support to improve retention (Brown, Walters, & Jones, 2019; Claiborne, Auerbach, Zeitlin, & Lawrence, 2015). Some evidence suggests that professional development may enhance both satisfaction and retention (Baker, 2010; Clark, Smith, & Uota, 2013). However, limited research explores what motivates experienced school psychologists to remain in the field long-term.