 |
|
|
The Helper’s Power to Heal and To Be Hurt, Or Helped, By Trying
by B. Hudnall Stamm, Ph.D., E. M. Varra, Ph.D., L. A. Pearlman, Ph.D. & E. Giller, M.A.
Learning Objectives
- Learn who is affected by vicarious trauma and how it affects them.
-
Understand the importance of educating "helpers" about vicarious trauma.
-
Learn how to consult "helping" professionals who may experience vicarious trauma.
People are often called on to respond
to individual, community, national, and even international crises. Health
care professionals, social service workers, teachers, attorneys, police
officers, firefighters, clergy, airline and other transportation staff,
disaster site cleanup crews, and others who offer assistance at the
time of the event or later may be negatively affected by their contact
with these events. These “helpers” are exposed to both primary (i.e.,
direct) and vicarious sources of traumatic stress. Although they may
experience positive feelings associated with their ability to help,
they may also feel negative, secondary effects, called vicarious trauma
(VT). Vicarious trauma can be caused by repeatedly hearing horrible
stories about extremely stressful events.
WHAT DO WE KNOW?
According to national scientific studies,
about 50% of women and 60% of men in the United States are exposed to
a potentially traumatizing event, about one fifth of whom will seek
professional mental health assistance. We do not have specific data
regarding the percentage of people in the helping professions who suffer
negative effects from their helping roles, but we do know that reports
of VT are widespread. Vicarious trauma occurs in those responders on
the front lines, and in those who provide assistance long after the
event.
Over the past fifteen years, research
has shown that while most are pleased to help those who experience extremely
stressful events, secondary exposure to traumatic stress can have a
negative impact on helpers. These effects are similar to those suffered
by the primary victim of the event and can include intrusive images,
nightmares, emotional numbing, dissociative experiences, and an exaggerated
startle response. Helpers may also undergo changes in how they experience
themselves and others, such as a decreased sense of security, increased
cynicism, and disconnection from loved ones. There is research evidence
that secondary exposure may also lead to depression in some helpers,
and may lead to increased use of alcohol or drugs. In the workplace,
VT has been associated with higher rates of physical illness, greater
use of sick leave, higher turnover, lower morale, and lower productivity
that may lead to patient care errors.
VT may be exacerbated by feelings of
professional isolation, large caseloads, and frequent contact with traumatized
people and visits to trauma environments or locations (e.g., ground
zero for an event). It may also be aggravated by the severity of the
traumatic material to which the helper is exposed, such as direct contact
with victims, or exposure to graphic accounts, stories, photos, and
other things associated with extremely stressful events.
WHAT CAN WE DO?
Experience has shown that a systematic
prevention program can maintain helpers’ well being and decrease individual
and organizational losses like turnover and burnout. A top priority
is educating emergency responders and those who assist with the long-term
responses about VT and other trauma issues. It is important to destigmatize
secondary trauma through organizational recognition and acknowledgement.
Organizations can establish policies
that are consistent with current knowledge of risk and prevention of
secondary/ vicarious traumatization. There are workplace models that
may be used as a basis for developing prevention and intervention programs
for helpers at risk for VT. Resources, including peer support, are useful
for those involved in helping. Professional consultation, training,
and counseling for VT and other secondary effects are vital to those
helpers in need.
FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Sidran Institute: Traumatic Stress Education
and Advocacy (www.Sidran.org)
Traumatic Stress Institute/Center for
Adult & Adolescent Psychotherapy, LLC and Trauma Research, Education,
& Training Institute, Inc. (www.tsicaap.com)
Idaho State University Institute of Rural
Health (www.isu.edu/irh)
ESSENTIAL READING
Figley, C.R. (Ed.) (1995). Compassion
Fatigue: Secondary Traumatic Stress Disorder from Treating the Traumatized.
New York: Brunner/Mazel.
Pearlman, L.A. and Saakvitne, K.W. (1995).
Trauma and the Therapist: Countertransference and Vicarious Traumatization
in Psychotherapy with Incest Survivors. New York: WW Norton.
Saakvitne, K., Gamble, S., Pearlman,
L., & Lev, B. (2000). Risking Connection. Towson, MD: Sidran Press.
Stamm, B.H. (Ed.) (1999). Secondary traumatic
stress: Self-care issues for clinicians, researchers, and educators,
2nd Edition,. Towson, MD: Sidran Press.
AUTHORS
B.H. Stamm, Ph.D.: Institute of Rural
Health, Idaho State University.
E. M. Varra, Ph.D.: Counseling and Testing
Center and Dept. of Psychology, University of Nevada, Reno
L. A. Pearlman, Ph.D.: Traumatic Stress
Institute, S. Windsor, CT
E. Giller, M.A.: President, Sidran Institute,
Towson, MD
Please Log In to take this exam.
|
