User:Bhougaard/Vicarious traumatization

Vicarious trauma was a term invented by McCann and Pearlman that is used to describe how working with traumatized clients and the effect is has on trauma therapists. Previously, the phenomenon was referred to as secondary traumatic stress, coined by Dr. Charles Figley. 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. 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. This change can produce changes in a therapist’s sense of spirituality, worldview, and self-identity.

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. McCann and Pearlman argue, however, that there is probably a relationship between these constructs, but vicarious trauma is unique and distinct.

Others, including Saakvitne, Gamble, Pearlman, and Lev (2000) have expanded its application to a wide range of persons who assist trauma survivors, including clergy, front-line social workers, justice system professionals, health care providers, humanitarian workers, journalists, and first responders. although the phenomenon is still evolving.

Vicarious trauma, conceptually based in constructivist self-development theory, arises from an interaction between individuals and their situations. 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. This in turn implies the individual nature of responses or adaptations to VT as well as individual ways of coping with and transforming it. 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 exposure to trauma, however indirectly, can cause an interruption to the daily functioning of the clinician reducing their effectiveness

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