Secondary & vicarious trauma: working with regular exposure to the aftermath and impact of trauma
Topic ID
D12
Duration
1 hour
Audience
Employees
Topic Description
Secondary traumatic stress disorder (Secondary Trauma), is a natural but disruptive by-product of working with traumatized clients. It is a set of observable reactions to working with people who have been traumatized and mirrors the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Many types of professionals, such as physicians, psychotherapists, human service workers and emergency workers, are vulnerable to developing this type of stress, though only a subset of such workers experience it. In this talk we will look at understanding the foundation of trauma with a focus on secondary trauma and how this shows up, we will also then look at proactive ways to manage this and take care of our mental health
The terms vicarious traumatization and secondary traumatic stress are often used interchangeably.
Learning Outcomes
- How the brain and body respond to trauma
- Understanding secondary trauma
- How is this different from primary trauma?
- Common causes of secondary trauma
- Signs and symptoms of secondary trauma
- Compassion fatigue
- Preventing compassion fatigue
- Understanding grief and loss that health professionals experience
- Mental health and resilience building
- Signs and symptoms
- Identifying an employee at risk
- Resilience-building behaviours
- Self-care
- Reminder of Lyra support
Disclaimers
Standard duration for most topics is 1 hour. Listen-and-learn sessions can be hosted online or in-person by client organisations. Topics may be adapted upon enquiry.