TS Nelson                                  Publications, Consultation and Trainings

This resource is intended for professionals and volunteers who work with victims of trauma, crime, abuse and natural disasters.  The booklet offers information about the effects and impact of trauma work including vicarious trauma and secondary traumatic stress, as well as suggestions for service providers on coping with this difficult work.  Also included is an extensive list of recommended resources for more information on this topic.

In this booklet, we have incorporated a broader look at vicarious trauma to include a range of perspectives on how trauma work affects helping professionals, emergency responders and other service providers. We have integrated information about compassion fatigue, post traumatic stress disorder and burnout to provide a more complete picture about the potential impact and implications of trauma work.

"Coping with Trauma Work and Vicarious Trauma" can be a helpful resource for anyone whose life or work has been affected by working with victims of any type of trauma. It also serves as an aid to understanding vicarious trauma and learning from the experiences of others.  In addition, this booklet is a great resource for further information and support on integrating a mindfulness-based approach to coping with trauma work.        It is an excellent guide for preparing volunteers, students, and seasoned professionals regarding trauma work and secondary traumatic stress.

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Table of Contents

I.  Defining and Understanding Vicarious Trauma

Introduction

Defining trauma  

Who can be affected by vicarious trauma? 

The type of trauma work can have different effects

Risk/vulnerability factors  

Resiliency/Protective factors 

What is vicarious trauma? 

Understanding the differences and similarities with:  stress, burnout, compassion fatigue, secondary traumatic stress, and post traumatic stress disorder

Some potential indicators of vicarious trauma

Physical, Behavioral, Social/Interpersonal, Psychological/Emotional, Spiritual, and World View

The personal implications and possible effects

On self, relationships, health, spirituality, world view

The professional implications and possible effects

On job functioning and morale                

On clients/patients and professional relationships     

The different effects relative to the type of trauma

II.  Responding to Vicarious Trauma:  Coping strategies

What is ‘good coping’?          

How do you cope? Self-Assessment 

Healthy and adaptive coping strategies        

Support from Colleagues       

Mindfulness and Meditation 

Breathing       

Progressive muscle relaxation

Healthy sleep and rest

Awareness      

Balance in life and work        

Compassion satisfaction        

Suggestions regarding self-care        

Develop a personal wellness plan      

Physical wellbeing     

Social connections     

Psychological wellbeing         

Long-term coping      

Integrate the proposed “Standards for Self-Care”    

Be mindful if you have a personal trauma history     

Brief tips on self-care following disasters     

Strategies and suggestions for the workplace        

Organizational support           

Supervision and peer connections      

Other key strategies for surviving in this field       

Create a sanctuary or haven   

Include compassion satisfaction      

Practice gratitude and loving kindness          

A final note on surviving in trauma work      

III.   For more information and further learning  

Additional resources  

Starting Today: A personal wellness plan      

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Booklet Excerpts:

Any helping professional, direct service provider, volunteer or first-line responder can be affected         by repeated, secondhand exposure to trauma or by a single incident of bearing witness to a traumatic event (e.g., events of 9/11/2001). 

It is the very nature of this work and the need for great sensitivity and compassion which increases our vulnerability as helping professionals. 

Feeling affected by this work is normal.  It is a natural outcome of bearing witness to another’s trauma.  As McCann and Pearlman noted in 1989 in their publication on this topic, “vicarious trauma is inevitable.”

Most people, when they begin working with victims of trauma, have a passion for the work and a belief that they will make a difference in the world.  Over time, many helping professionals find the psychological toll of bearing witness to their clients’ trauma becomes life altering.  Therein lies the core issue of vicarious trauma and secondary traumatic stress:  You cannot do this work and not be affected.

In order to survive in this field, we need to have meaning in our work and our lives.  We must remember that there is good in the world.  We need to reflect on gratitude in our lives and be thankful.

Retreats and trainings for professionals on trauma work and vicarious trauma are facilitated by the authors of this booklet, 

Terri Spahr Nelson, MSSW and Patrick R. Nelson, Ph.D., Sugati Retreats.  For more information, contact TS Nelson @ tsnelson01@yahoo.com

“Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way.”    
--Viktor E. Frankl in Man’s Search for Meaning (1946)