What Is Secondary Trauma?
Secondary trauma is commonly referred to as "the stress resulting from helping or wanting to help a traumatized or suffering person."* Dr. Laurie Pearlman, an expert in the trauma field prefers the term vicarious trauma to describe the "cumulative transformative effect of working with survivors of traumatic life events."**
Who is at risk for secondary trauma?
All professionals, paraprofessionals or family members who work with and/or assist traumatized or distressed children, adults or families. Examples of such professionals:
- psychotherapists
- nurses
- teachers
- hospice workers
- foster parents
- counselors
- mental health counselors
- suicide hotline staff
- prison guards
- child welfare workers
- social workers
- journalists
- firefighters
- physicians
- judges
- veterans
What are some common symptoms of secondary trauma?
- intrusive thoughts
- chronic fatigue
- sadness
- anger
- poor concentration
- second guessing
- detachment
- emotional exhaustion
- fearfulness
- shame
- physical illness
- absenteeism
Why should organizations be concerned about secondary trauma and its impact on their staff?
The costs of recruiting, hiring and training new staff are significant. Secondary trauma is a contributing factor to turnover. Turnover brings down staff morale, increases the workload for remaining staff, results in poor continuity of care for children and families, and prevents organizations from forming a high functioning and cohesive workforce. In addition, the quality and quantity of a staff member’s work may suffer if they have been secondarily traumatized and do not receive assistance.
