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Vicarious Trauma and Its Impact on Advocates, Therapists and Friends

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Vicarious Trauma and Its Impact on Advocates, Therapists and Friends WCSAP VOLUME 6 | 2 VOLUME 6 | 2 Research & MARCH 2004 MARCH 2004 Advocacy Digest Linking Advocates & Researchers Vicarious Trauma and Its Impact on Advocates, Therapists and Friends Letter From The Editor Janet Anderson, Advocacy Education Director Inside n our work as sexual assault advocates, therapists and prevention specialists, 2 - 3 Interview with Golie Jansen Iwe bear witness to the emotional pain of survivors of sexual assault on a daily basis. Although we may experience affirmative, life-changing and positive 4 - 13 Vicarious Trauma Abstracts impacts due to the nature of our work, we are also vulnerable to being exposed to both direct and vicarious sources of traumatic stress. Extensive literature 14 Implications for Practice reviews of vicarious trauma recognize this issue as a serious challenge faced by those in the helping profession. They identify compassion fatigue, intrusive 15 Resources imagery, distressing emotions, burnout, somatic complaints, changes in identity, changes in worldview and other functional impairments as potential consequences of vicarious trauma if not dealt with in a systematic way. On the other hand, the literature also cites concrete strategies individuals and organizations can employ to ameliorate its effects. Contributors Vicarious trauma (McCann & Pearlman, 1990) Janet Anderson, Editor, WCSAP is described as “pervasive changes that occur within clinicians over time as a result of working Suzanne Brown-McBride, WCSAP with clients who have experiences sexual trauma”. Catherine Carroll, WCSAP Christi Hurt, WCSAP This edition of the Research & Advocacy Digest explores how the special nature of sexual assault work impacts the emotional well-being, health, perceptions of the world through the lens of vicarious trauma, compassion Sherina James, WCSAP fatigue, countertransference and burnout. This edition also explores risk factors for vicarious trauma and solutions that can be implemented on the Golie Jansen, Associate Professor, personal, professional and organizational level to diminish the negative effects Eastern Washington University of this phenomenon. continued on back A PUBLICATION OF | THE WASHINGTON COALITION OF SEXUAL ASSAULT PROGRAMS Vicarious Trauma: An Interview with Golie Jansen, Associate Professor, Department of Social Work, Eastern Washington University WCSAP: Golie, can you tell me what you were which measures how satisfied workers are with their attempting to study in your research? organization and their perceptions of support they receive from them. These two measures give us a G: The research I am in the process of finalizing is good idea about the relationship between perceptions examining the relationship between perceived of support and whether that support has any organizational support and the levels of vicarious influence over how vicariously traumatized they are. trauma in sexual assault workers. It’s still being We distributed the surveys at WCSAP’s annual analyzed and will be formally published but I can conference to a variety of participants, including discuss some of our initial findings and advocates, educational specialists, managers, recommendations. community outreach specialists and therapists and had a 40% return rate, which is pretty high. WCSAP: What originally led you to do this research project? “Preliminary findings indicate G: During my conversations with therapists who worked with sexual assault survivors, I noticed that that participants were definitely they made statements and discussed some behaviors that made me question how the work was affecting experiencing vicarious trauma as them. For instance, I heard about instances of therapists a result of this work, but we also saying they were shopping during every lunch break, needed drinks to relax when they got home or just stated are finding that when people that they were not involved in much of anything. So, I started wondering if they were experiencing vicarious perceive their organizations to be trauma because of their work. supportive, they experience lower I also started to question whether the organization levels of vicarious trauma.” had a responsibility to address some of those negative aspects of sexual assault work with their workers. In reading the literature pertaining to vicarious trauma WCSAP: We know your study is still being I wanted to determine whether organizational analyzed and refined, and will be submitted for support made a difference in how it mitigates formal publication in the near future, but can you vicarious trauma. Although there is much literature tell us what your preliminary findings are? pertaining to vicarious trauma, there is very little literature on the relationship between organizational G: Preliminary findings indicate that participants support and vicarious trauma, so I set out to conduct were definitely experiencing vicarious trauma as a a research project on the topic. result of this work, but we also are finding that when people perceive their organizations to be supportive, WCSAP: Can you describe how you designed they experience lower levels of vicarious trauma. At your research project? this point in the analysis, our hypothesis has been strongly confirmed; this study is leading us to believe G: We used two standardized instruments: 1) the in the relationship between organizational support Traumatic Stress Institute’s (TSI) Belief Scale and 2) and how much this support can mitigate the severity the Measure of Perceived Organizational Support, of vicarious trauma. This information is very much 2 MARCH | 2004 needed because it provides recommendations for idealistic person who sees the world as a place where organizations on how to manage their programs to things are fair or where people are basically good. mitigate or even prevent the effects of vicarious trauma. But by doing this work you only work with the atrocities that people tell you. Consequently, you WCSAP: Based on your preliminary findings, may begin to shift the notion of what your worldview what are some recommendations that you would looks like and find yourself becoming more cynical, give to sexual assault organizations, their workers and the whole idea of hope becomes lost. The and management? What is crucial for them to question then arises, if I as a therapist or sexual assault understand? advocate lose hope, how can I instill it in people who are most vulnerable? How can I demonstrate G: My recommendations are as follows: that there are ways to address it; that there are antidotes? Also, if we don’t see great success in the • It is important for organizations to understand work, we may think “I’m a bad therapist” or “I’m a their role as the managers of all this and to bad advocate.” These are issues that agencies can not place the burden of dealing with it on the help workers address. Staff meetings and individual therapists and advocates. consultation can help people begin to identify ways they are being affected and develop strategies to deal • Younger, less experienced workers may need with them, like fostering self-care routines. more training since we’re finding that they tend to be more vicariously traumatized than I also want to remind people that even though we more experienced workers. hear and see atrocities, it is important to remember that people are doing incredible, beautiful and heroic • Organizations have an obligation to inform things out there in the world, every day. You can and a duty to warn those coming into the field embrace both the atrocities and the goodness. It’s of the potential occupational hazards of the important to keep a balanced perspective. work. This can be done as part of the hiring process so they can make informed choices I have completed another research project by about whether to continue. Organizations interviewing 15 sexual assault workers from all over can also set this practice up in their personnel the state. It was amazing to see how those workers protocols. They should, however, not only who have stayed in this field for ten or more years stress the hazards, but ways advocates can talked about the joy and satisfaction this work gives protect themselves and discuss what the them. Many of them said that spirituality now had organization will do to help minimize the a big place in their life as a result. In doing this work most negative effects. they gained a deeper understanding of what life is like, what relationships really are and how beautiful • Provide more training on trauma in general to the world is. So we also need to begin to talk about students and sexual assault workers so they post-traumatic growth and how resilient we are. This are aware of its impact. Universities often work can deepen our sense of connection in the don’t emphasize this, which ultimately does a world because we can overcome trauma and great disservice to those going into the work. suffering. However, one won’t come to this place if Consequently the workers have limited they don’t address the harmful and hurtful aspects exposure regarding the nature of trauma but of the work, which ultimately can be damaging to then find themselves dealing with extremely our clients. traumatized people. This also speaks to the need for more intensive staff development. WCSAP: Golie, thank you for taking the time to discuss your new study and we look forward to WCSAP: Those are great recommendations. Is its upcoming publication. there anything else you would like to add about this topic? For more information on Golie Jansen’s research, you may contact her at Eastern Washington G: One of the ways that vicarious trauma impacts University at (509) 359-6487 or email her at people is that is affects their worldview, spirituality [email protected]. I and sense of identity. Someone may initially be an RESEARCH & ADVOCACY DIGEST 3 Emotional Reactions of Rape Victim Advocates: A Multiple Case Study of Anger and Fear WASCO, SHARON, CAMPBELL, REBECCA. PSYCHOLOGY OF WOMEN QUARTERLY, 26 (2002) 120-130 The goal of the study was to identify situations that situations in their daily lives.
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