Īnything that interferes with the helper's ability to fulfill his/her responsibility to assist traumatized clients can contribute to vicarious trauma. This exposure to trauma, however indirectly, can cause an interruption to the daily functioning of the clinician reducing their effectiveness. Some have postulated that this traumatization occurs when one's view of the world or a feeling of safety is shattered by hearing about the experiences of their clients.
This in turn implies the individual nature of responses or adaptations to VT as well as individual ways of coping with and transforming it. This means that the individual helper's personal history (including prior traumatic experiences), coping strategies, and support network, among other things, all interact with his or her situation (including work setting, the nature of the work s/he does, the specific clientele served, etc.), to give rise to individual expressions of vicarious trauma. Vicarious trauma, conceptually based in constructivist self-development theory, arises from an interaction between individuals and their situations.
Common signs and symptoms include, but are not limited to, social withdrawal mood swings aggression greater sensitivity to violence somatic symptoms sleep difficulties intrusive imagery cynicism sexual difficulties difficulty managing boundaries with clients and core beliefs and resulting difficulty in relationships reflecting problems with security, trust, esteem, intimacy, and control. Workers who have personal trauma histories may be more vulnerable to VT, although the research findings on this point are mixed. The signs and symptoms of vicarious trauma parallel those of direct trauma, although they tend to be less intense. When helping professionals attempt to connect with their clients/victims emotionally, the symptoms of vicarious trauma can create emotional disturbance such as feelings of sadness, grief, irritability and mood swings. The symptoms of vicarious trauma align with the symptoms of primary, actual trauma. McCann and Pearlman argue, however, that there is probably a relationship between these constructs, but vicarious trauma is unique and distinct.Īs time has progressed, the term vicarious trauma has expanded to more than just indirect trauma experienced by trauma therapists and has come to include many more populations, although the phenomenon is still evolving. Vicarious trauma is still a subject of debate by theorists, with some saying it is based on the concept of countertransference, burnout, and compassion fatigue. This change can produce changes in a therapist’s sense of spirituality, worldview, and self-identity. This change is thought to have three conditional requirements: empathic engagement and exposure to graphic and traumatizing material, the therapist being exposed to human cruelty, and reenactment of trauma within the therapy process.
The theory behind vicarious trauma is that the therapist has a profound world change and is permanently altered by the interaction of empathetic bonding with a client. Previously, the phenomenon was referred to as secondary traumatic stress coined by Dr. Vicarious trauma (VT) was a term invented by McCann and Pearlman that is used to describe how working with traumatized clients affects trauma therapists. Please help improve this article by using fewer words whilst keeping the content of the article. This article's text uses more words than are necessary.
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