本研究旨在探討大專院校心理師之離職因素與離職歷程，邀請到三位曾任職大專院校心理師參與本研究。研究方法為質性研究取向，以半結構式深度訪談進行資料蒐集，並以敘說研究進行資料分析、歸納與統整，整理出大專院校心理師離職因素之初探模式，和心理師離職時經歷的七個階段。
一、 離職因素之初探模式
從大專院校諮商心理師離職因素中建構出初步的離職模式概念，因素分為三個層面，分別為個人因素、學校環境和單位環境，個人因素有對自身的角色期待和經濟上的考量；學校環境則又分為學校制度與學校政策；單位環境包含主管風格與同事相處；而學校環境又會影響單位環境；學校政策則會因為主管風格差異會有所不同；不管學校環境或單位環境都會和個人因素相互影響，最後可能導致心理師對個人專業認同的懷疑，產生情緒耗竭後會對專業學習感到阻礙，進而使個人成長受限，最終導致離職。
二、大專院校心理師離職歷程七階段
(一) 任職前的期待與想像：對工作的期待與想像，落差過大時會需要較多的心力調整。
(二) 任職初期的適應：會銜接前一階段的期待與想像，適應上的議題產生。
(三) 任職過程中的困境：想像與現實的落差無法調適，就會變成困境，進而可能成為耗竭的因素。
(四) 離職意願的產生：耗竭累積到一定程度後就會開始產生離職念頭。
(五) 離職前的考量過程：產生離職意願到決定離職中間，經過考量與掙扎，情感的連結最為關鍵。
(六) 離職的關鍵事件：離職決定事件中學校政策與主管態度影響最大。
(七) 離職後的檢核：離職後在各方面的改善，包含情緒、生理、自我專業價值、學習機會、專業成長等。
最後根據研究結果與綜合討論，針對未來研究、心理師專業教育單位、大專院校心理師、大專院校諮商中心單位提出建議。
The purpose of this study was to understand the turnover process for university-level counseling psychologists and its contributory factors. Three former collegiate psychologists were invited to participate in the study. Data for this qualitative study had been collected through semi-structured, in-depth interviews with the participating psychologists, then analyzed and reformulated with a narrative approach to establish a preliminary model characterizing the 7 stages of progression during a turnover, and the various factors leading to it.
Specifically, the preliminary model details three types of contributory factors relating to: personal issues, institutional policies and the work environment, where personal issues include personal expectations and financial concerns; institutional policies include school regulations and the educational approach; and the work environment includes the supervisory direction and the peer interaction. These various factors often interact with one another to form a complex, interdependent causal structure – the work environment is greatly determined by the body of school regulations; the educational approach of the school is dissimilarly implemented by different supervisors; and the personal issues of the psychologist may be mollified or exacerbated by both institutional policies and the work environment. A resigning psychologist is influenced by these factors to question their professional competence, experience emotional burnout and encounter barriers in professional learning and personal growth, finally leading to the turnover.
7 Stages in a resignation of university-level educational counselor
(1) Pre-employment expectations – An unrealistic expectation of work conditions entails added effort to adjust to the eventual discrepancy.
(2) Early employment adjustment – Adjustment issues may arise following the disillusionment of pre-employment expectations.
(3) Mid-employment crisis – When work conditions continue to disappoint despite sustained adjustment efforts, the problem becomes a crisis, and may start to burn out the counselor.
(4) Formulation of the resignation intent – The counselor will begin to have thoughts about leaving once the work-related exhaustion accumulates to a certain level.
(5) Pre-resignation contemplations – Before the submission of a resignation letter, the counselor will often experience much inner struggle to clarify personal needs and priorities. Emotional ties to the people, place or culture at work are often crucial to the counselor’s decision to leave or stay.
(6) Key event and formal resignation – Institutional policies or the counselor’s relationship with the immediate supervisor constitute the deciding stimulus leading to a formal resignation.
(7) Post-resignation reflection – After separation, the counselor would often see improvements in emotional and physical health, professional worth, growth opportunities and career development.
