Burnout and resilience: Sustaining the mental health nursing workforce

Mental health nurses are integral to the delivery of high-quality mental healthcare. However, persistent exposure to occupational stress, high patient acuity, staff shortages, and organizational challenges contribute to burnout, threatening workforce sustainability and patient outcomes. This article critically reviews literature from the past decade (2015–2025) to examine the prevalence, antecedents, and consequences of burnout among mental health nurses, and explores resilience as a mitigating factor. Evidence highlights the multidimensional nature of burnout, encompassing emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced personal accomplishment. Resilience emerges as a dynamic, learnable, and context-dependent process that buffers stress, supports adaptive coping, and enhances retention. Strategies for cultivating resilience include structured reflective practice, peer support, trauma-informed training, mindfulness, organizational support, leadership engagement, and targeted professional development. The article integrates evidence on organizational, interpersonal, and individual factors influencing resilience, and presents conceptual models, empirical findings, and policy recommendations. Eight figures and three tables are included to illustrate the prevalence, determinants, conceptual frameworks, and intervention outcomes. This synthesis aims to inform nursing practice, workforce planning, and policy formulation to sustain a resilient mental health nursing workforce.