Chenoweth, L., & McAuliffe, D. (2021). The road to social work and human service practice. (6th ed.). (pp. 304-308). Cengage Learning.
Much human service work is highly stressful and demanding. The most important resource for agencies is the people who do the work, so supporting practitioners should be a fundamental activity of any agency; however, the extent to which an agency can or is prepared to look after their resources varies. Often it is left to the practitioner to be alert to how they are going, what supports they need and to decide how to obtain them. The professional development strategies mentioned above are one way to address any concerns.
The impact of work with people who have endured considerable trauma and suffering, such as vulnerable children or refugees who have been tortured, or people who have been victims of a natural disaster, can be severe on practitioners. Often it is those who do this work well who are the most vulnerable to what is known as ‘secondary traumatic stress’, ‘vicarious trauma’ or ‘compassion fatigue’
(NelsonGardell & Harris, 2003).
The concept of vicarious traumatisation came out of the study of the effects of trauma on people who survive tragic life events. Researchers noted that trauma has an impact not only on the lives of direct victims, but on their families, communities and others. They began to measure the effect of trauma on people who worked with trauma survivors, and noted similar changes in behaviour and attitudes over time. These changes became known as ‘compassion fatigue’, ‘emotional contagion’, ‘secondary traumatic stress’ or ‘vicarious trauma’. Charles Figley described this as:
‘the natural, consequent behaviours and emotions resulting from knowledge about a traumatizing event experienced by a significant other – it is the stress resulting from helping or wanting to help a traumatized or suffering person’(1995, p. 7)
Vicarious trauma impacts on different people in different ways, and is a cumulative response to traumatic material which can be triggered by a one-off exposure to a significant issue (often referred to as post traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD) or by repeated exposure to a range of issues and incidents. It is not about professional failing, personal weakness or an inability to self-manage.
There are also situations in which a worker will be part of a traumatic event themselves that also effects the people with whom they might then work. This concept has been termed ‘shared traumatic reality’ (Dekel & Baum, 2010) and examples might include a worker who lives in an area that has been impacted by a natural disaster like a flood, bushfire, cyclone or earthquake. The effects of climate change that are leading to severe drought in many areas, and the impacts of rising sea levels that are putting at risk low-lying island communities, as well as increase acts of terrorism and instability resulting in war, make this ‘shared traumatic reality’ important to acknowledge and understand. Therapists, community workers and counsellors can find themselves sharing the same ground and experiences as the survivors with whom they work.
More recently, writers in this area have also been identifying the benefits of being positively transformed by human services practice. Figley described this as ‘compassion satisfaction’, the opposite of compassion fatigue. Hernandez, Engstrom & Gangsei (2010) define vicarious resilience as
‘a unique and positive effect that transforms therapists in response to client trauma survivors’ own resiliency’(p. 72)
According to their 2010 research, therapists found that their own attitudes, emotions and behaviours changed by ‘reflecting on human beings’ capacity to heal’, ‘regaining hope’, ‘reassessing the dimensions of one’s own problems’, ‘understanding and valuing the spiritual dimensions of healing’ and ‘discovering the power of community healing’ (p. 73).
As a social worker or human services practitioner, you will inevitably take on the suffering and experiences of the people you engage with. As you ‘travel alongside’ your clients, you will be changed by the experience. Whether this is a positive transformation, or an experience of loss, will depend on how you make sense of your practice, the meaning you draw from your work, and the way that you come to process and understand its emotional effects. We encourage you to think about this early in your journey, and to take the time to nurture and develop the spiritual and emotional parts of yourself.
Practitioner perspective
I have been doing this work in child protection for more than 25 years now and some days I feel like I am back at day one. I can attest to the joys and the pain. I still cry fairly often but now I feel less like I am bereft and more like my tears are an expression of dignity for the things I hear. One thing I can say for certain is that there is no ‘cost neutral’ way to be a social worker. It takes a toll, and you need to be sure that you are willing to pay the price. I can say with certainty that I love what I do and it has been worth it.
When I was a ‘fresher’, I thought self-care was all about stress management and relaxation… walks on the beach, candles and baths, mindfulness and snuggling Labradors. This is a little bit true (I have two Labradors, which are my unofficial therapy dogs), but I now see things differently. Self-care gets you through the day and the next day and maybe a few more. If you want a sustainable, energizing, effective career in social work, then you need to have a very clear idea of why you do what you do - the value it adds to the world, the costs and the rewards. And you need to see – truly cherish - the rewards, knowing you have contributed to a stronger, fairer, kinder world. You can’t immerse yourself in the pain of others without holding that pain with them. It rubs off every time. Sometimes it burns you. But when you acknowledge the troubling and debilitating aspects of your work you also learn to see the strength in others, the hope for change and growth. Celebrate your individual successes and take comfort in the fact that they really are nothing more than the reflected resilience of the people we serve.
However, if you want survival tips… I can share these:
- Manage stress through problem-solving approaches, relaxation, fun, exercise – or whatever else works for you
- Develop and maintain hope and spirituality
- Acknowledge the troubling and debilitating aspects of your work and also acknowledge your individual successes, achievements and the vital role that you play in our society
- Accept that feelings of anger and sorrow are all aspects of a healthy psyche
- Engage with your community – find a space to participate in ‘healthy’ humanity
- Maintain clear boundaries between your work and private life
- Keep a life outside work – protect it, nurture it
- Develop and use supportive workplace relationships
- Be assertive in expressing your emotional needs at work
- Use line-management supervision to process your emotional responses to work and to articulate your care needs
- Become politically active on issues that are important to you in both your personal and professional life
- Access external professional supervision
- Establish or join peer-supervision and support networks
- Write a self-care plan that outlines your strengths and vulnerabilities, maps your resources and supports and makes clear commitments about what you can do and why.
- Matthew Armstrong
Armstrong, M. (2004). Vicarious trauma: Overview Paper 1. Unpublished paper.
Brisbane: Queensland Department of Child Safety.
Practitioner perspective
In my fourth year social work placement, I had the opportunity to work at a children’s hospital in the intensive care unit. In this placement I learnt that intensive care is certainly ‘intense’. By week three my supervisors were giving me cases to work on independently. Although at times I felt way out of my depth, I am so grateful for these opportunities. Working in the area of crisis and trauma has taught me invaluable lessons about thinking on my feet, how to make quick assessments and how to address immediate needs to ensure the physical and emotional safety of my clients. During this placement I was moved by both the fragility and the incredible resilience and strength of the parents and families. Sadly, this experience came at a cost. During my placement I saw six precious children pass away. I will never be the same because of these children. I will never be the same having had the opportunity to work with their families. They have left a mark on my heart which can never be erased.
- Amy Larsen
At the times when you might feel overwhelmed by this work and sense that you need to take action, do not feel afraid to seek counselling, support or therapeutic intervention. There are great benefits in taking the time to care for yourself in this way. Practitioners who have not paid sufficient attention to the impact of their work on themselves are not likely to seek outside assistance and can become complacent and dissatisfied with their work. In a small study of counsellors working with perpetrators and survivors of domestic violence, Iliffe and Steed (2000) found that the practitioners did use a number of strategies to relieve stress and burnout, but they found it difficult during the study interviews to focus on their own issues, shifting the discussion instead to their clients’ experiences.
Looking after yourself and maintaining a work–life balance should be a feature of any career. As people who will work with human suffering and problems, violence and trauma, you need to be aware of the potential impact on your wellbeing. To develop this awareness, seek advice and support from other experienced practitioners and supervisors. Many organisations will have an employee assistance program that staff can access to ensure maintenance of good mental health.
Practitioner perspective
Social work and human services is emotional work with many factors that can influence our wellbeing at work and at home. During my studies and as a practitioner I realised that many people within these professions had their own experiences of adversity and sometimes even service use. Many of us have experiences of child abuse, caring for family members, mental and physical illness, disability and oppression, which had led us into these fields. However, it can be confusing to know how to integrate these experiences into our professional lives and how they might be viewed by others.
Personal experiences of adversity can trigger both negative and positive emotions for us as practitioners. There is risk we could over-identity with our clients or even experience vicarious trauma in hearing stories of hardship. However, our own experiences might also mean we are quickly able to empathise with our clients or even bring knowledge of navigating and using services. Importantly, we might also carry resilience from these experiences which can be transferred into our practice. Our recognition of resilience in our colleagues and clients also allows us to grow collectively and respond to social injustice.
Whilst our own experiences can cause deep emotional responses, so can difficult or even toxic workplaces. High caseloads, unforgiving amounts of paperwork and unhealthy workplace cultures can detrimentally impact on our emotional well-being. Working with colleagues to reflect and find solutions can be an important component of practice. In understanding how our personal experiences might relate to broader political and social issues we can acknowledge the resilience of not only ourselves but our colleagues and clients. Resisting social injustice through activism or collective consciousness raising can also allow us to build upon our own and our collective resilience.
- Michelle Newcomb
