Mediterranean Journal of Clinical Psychology MJCP ISSN: 2282‐1619 VOL II N.3 (2014) Doi: 10.6092/2282‐1619/2014.2.1023 BURNOUT EXPERIENCE AMONG TEACHERS: A CASE STUDY Caruso A.L., 1 Giammanco M.D., 2 Gitto L. 3* 1 Dr in “Programmazione e gestione delle politiche e dei Servizi Sociali”, University of Catania, Italy 2 MA - DSPS, University of Catania, Italy 3 * MSc, PhD - CEIS Sanità, University of Roma “Tor Vergata”, Roma, Italy. Corresponding author: CEIS Sanità, Facoltà di Economia, Università “Tor Vergata”, Via Columbia 2, 00133 Roma (Italy); Phone: +39 339 8958858; E-mail: Gitto@CEIS.uniroma2.it Abstract: Burnout is a psychological syndrome, stemming as a response to chronic interpersonal jobs stressor, characterized by three principal dimensions: Exhaustion (the state of depletion of the individual’s emotional and psysical resources due to difficulties in facing customers’ demands); Depersonalization (the negative, off-putting and eztremely distant reaction to diverse facets of the job); reduced Personal Accomplishment (referring to reduced self-esteem concerning competence, achievement and productivity at work, Maslach and Jackson, 1981) The stream of reforms that has recently changed the Italian School, by favouring educational deregulation and increasing levels of autonomy for school boards, has increased Burnout levels among teachers, who may feel thorn between their internal expectation (personal beliefs, motivations and professional style) and the external pressures emerging not only from students, but also from a more