Vicarious Traumatisation
- lionessrising
- 44 minutes ago
- 1 min read
Three years into my recovery from burnout. I am definitely feeling stronger but still have some healing to do.
Vicarious trauma (VT) and Secondary Traumatic Stress (STS) are frequently used interchangeably to refer to the indirect trauma that can occur when we are exposed to difficult or disturbing images and stories second-hand.
This can be experienced as lingering feelings of anger, rage and sadness about patient's victimisation. becoming overly involved emotionally with the patient, experiencing bystander guilt, shame, feelings of self-doubt, being preoccupied with thoughts of patients outside of the work situation.
In vicarious trauma, the therapist experiences a profound worldview change and is permanently altered by empathetic bonding with a client. The consequences to professionals can include development of anxiety, depression, intrusive thoughts, alienation, dissociative episodes, feeling of helplessness, paranoia, hypervigilance, and disrupted personal relationships. If not mitigated against or treated effectively, it can be a pathway to post-traumatic stress disorder.
Source: Google
Excellent journal article on secondary traumatisation:
Article: Compassion Fatigue, Burnout, and Vicarious Trauma
