ObjectiveThe concept of burnout has studied as a peculiar form of occupational stress that affects the people whose work is centered direct and permanently in the provision of aid to other people with difficulties. One has studied specially in sanitary and educational professions. The group of professionals who take care of people with problems of abuse or dependency of substances has not been enough studied and it is expectable that they may be one of the most vulnerable groups whereas they take care of multiproblematic patients that associated to their addiction show educative, mental health and social marginalization problems, as well as personality characteristics like aggressiveness, low tolerance to frustration and immediate demand of attention. The objective of the study was to study the prevalence and characteristics of burnout in a sample of professionals of several centers of attention to drug addicts and their relation with the declared psychopathological symptoms. Material and methods150 professionals of outpatients, residential, hospital and prison centers, integrated in multidisciplinary staffs of attention to drug dependents. InstrumentsMBI (Maslach Burnout Inventory,by Maslach and Jackson) and SCL-90-R (Symptom Check 90 List Revised, by Derogatis). ResultsIt is observed a very high prevalence and intensity of burnout, specially in some jobs like those of the Sanitary Helpers. The elevation of the scale of depersonalization is highly significant. Differences by genre, or according to the age or the experience time of work in this kind of jobs are not appraised. There is a strong correlation between the scales of the MBI and those of the SCL-90-R, special, but not only, in the Emotional Exhaustion. ConclusionsWe hipotetice that the «despersonalization» variable is not only one consequence of the professional exhaustion, but also a self-protection strategy. We suggest the necessity of counting on the personality characteristics that can explain the different symptomatic answers. We suggest possible alternatives that could reduce the high observed levels of exhaustion in this professional group.