Alleviating Vicarious Trauma

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Alleviating Vicarious Trauma

Vicarious trauma is a common occupational hazard of social service professionals in the nonprofit sector. After repeatedly listening to the pain of others and feeling a strong desire to help their clients, professional helpers often begin to internalize that pain and combine that pain with some of their own traumatic experiences. This can lead to a host of physical, emotional and behavioral symptoms that interfere with their personal and professional lives.

Solutions for Alleviating Vicarious Trauma

There are several procedures that can be adopted by nonprofit leadership to help alleviate vicarious trauma and compassion fatigue in social service professionals:
Clear policies and guidelines to ensure safety and personal and professional growth
Debriefing after counseling incidents
On-going trauma awareness counseling programs
Clinical supervision to discuss case management or vicarious trauma concerns
Healthy agency culture with a separate break room for counselors that provides comfortable seating and soothing music

Social Worker Interview Process

The possibility of vicarious trauma should be discussed during the interview process so new staff members can feel comfortable and confident in their new role. It should be reiterated that annual reviews are rated on accomplishments of preset goals, and not rated on the admission of vicarious trauma symptoms. This will attract healthy, compassionate employees who will be committed to your employee-centered, client-centered organization.

The interview process is also an ideal time to introduce the self-care philosophy of the agency. Interviewers should include the fact that a mandatory annual self-care plan is part of the yearly review process. Within 30 days of employment a self-care initiative should be developed for five areas to create balance in and out of the office:
Physical growth
Emotional growth
Financial growth
Spiritual growth
Intellectual growth

The plan should be monitored periodically in supervision to ensure success. The goals should be measurable and cause the staff member to reach outside of his or her daily routine. Vicarious trauma will be alleviated when the staff is balanced and healthy in all of these key life experiences.

Many staff members who participate in self-care initially include meditation and journaling in their emotional and spiritual goals. These are forms of listening, which is an activity normally performed with clients. The healing from vicarious trauma occurs when you self listen, when you record your thoughts and concerns or when you visualize beauty and peace during a five minute break during a particular stressful day. It allows a counselor to put things in perspective and revive his/her faith in himself/herself, in humanity and social justice.

Social Worker Retreats and Training

Staff retreats can be used to remind staff that they are valued and that their health is important to their success in the helper professions. Team building will occur and it will infiltrate into team case management and support between staff. The weed of self doubt will be squashed and another symptom of vicarious trauma will be alleviated.

Professional training sessions will allow social service professionals to better deal with client problems and keep their trauma in perspective. A feeling of value within an organization occurs when leadership skills are taught and practiced by each staff member, from the executive director to the administrative assistant or volunteer intern.

Vicarious Trauma and Social Service Leaders

Leadership in the social service nonprofit industry must begin to prioritize and understand vicarious trauma to avoid counselor shortages and medicated retirees. Organizational structures that include support, training and a self-care commodity will survive and lead others on this path.

By understanding vicarious trauma, it systemic consequences and solutions, we ensure our societys paid helpers will thrive and assist our community to thrive. It is time to educate ourselves about vicarious trauma to allow for continued personal and professional growth within the individual and the community.

About the Author:

The Denver Center for Crime Victims holds workshops to teach individuals to recognize and treat vicarious trauma and learn techniques to overcome its effects. To register for an upcoming vicarious trauma workshop please visit http://www.denvervictims.org or call 303-860-0600.

Alleviating Vicarious Trauma

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