Vicarious Trauma

Dr. Apryl Pooley is the Director of Training and Technical Assistance at the Michigan Victim Advocacy Network (MiVAN).

Lisa Tieszen, co-founder of Resilience Works, is an advocate and clinician whose expertise focuses on working with trauma-exposed teams and organizations across the country.

Research Articles Referenced In Video

American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders 5th ed. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.books.9780890425596

Baird, S., & Jenkins, S. R. (2003). Vicarious traumatization, secondary traumatic stress, and burnout in sexual assault and domestic violence agency staff. Violence and Victims, 18(1), 71–87.

Benuto LT, Newlands R, Ruork A, Hooft S, Ahrendt A. (2018). Secondary traumatic stress among victim advocates: Prevalence and correlates. Journal of Evidence-Informed Social Work, 15(5), 494–509.

Cayir E, Spencer M, Billings D, Messias DKH, Robillard A, Cunningham T. (2021). “The Only Way We’ll Be Successful”: Organizational factors that influence psychosocial well-being and self-care among advocates working to address gender-based violence. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 36(23–24), 11327–1135.

Figley, C. R. (Ed.). (1995). Compassion fatigue: Coping with secondary traumatic stress disorder in those who treat the traumatized. New York: Brunner Mazel.

Fontin FMB, Pino EC, Hang J, Dugan E, Fontin FMB, Pino EC, et al. (2021). Compassion satisfaction and compassion fatigue among violence intervention caseworkers. Journal of Social Service Research, 47(4), 486–95. https://doi.org/10.1080/01488376.2020.1839628

Frey LL, Beesley D, Abbott D, Kendrick E. (2017). Vicarious resilience in sexual assault and domestic violence advocates. Psychological Trauma Theory Research Practice and Policy, 9(1), 44–51.

McCann, L., & Pearlman, L. A. (1990). Vicarious traumatization: A framework for understanding the psychological effects of working with victims. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 3,131-149.

Molnar BE, Meeker SA, Manners K, Tieszen L, Kalergis K, Fine JE, et al. (2020). Vicarious traumatization among child welfare and child protection professionals: A systematic review. Child Abuse And Neglect, 110(P3):104679.

Pearlman, L. A., & MacIan, P. S. (1995). Vicarious traumatization: An empirical study of the effects of trauma work on trauma therapists. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 26, 558-565.

B. H. Stamm (Ed.). (1999). Secondary traumatic stress: Self-care issues for clinicians, researchers, and educators, 2nd ed., 65-79. Lutherville, MD: Sidran.

Schauben, L. J., & Frazier, P. A. (1995). Vicarious trauma: The effects on female counselors of working with sexual violence survivors. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 19, 49-64

Slattery, S. M., & Goodman, L. A. (2009). Secondary traumatic stress among domestic violence advocates: Workplace risk and protective factors. Violence Against Women, 15(11), 1358–1379.

Wasco, S. M., & Campbell, R. (2002). A multiple case study of rape victim advocates’ self-care routines: The influence of organizational context. American Journal of Community Psychology, 30(5), 731–760.

Wilson JM, Goodman LA. (2021). “A Community of Survivors”: A grounded theory of organizational support for survivor-advocates in domestic violence agencies. Violence Against Women, 27(1), 2664–86.

Toolkits and Fact Sheets:

OVC Vicarious Trauma Toolkit

The Vicarious Trauma Toolkit was developed on the premise that exposure to the traumatic experiences of other people—known as vicarious trauma—is an inevitable occupational challenge for the fields of victim services, emergency medical services, fire services, law enforcement, and other allied professionals; however, organizations can mitigate the potentially negative effects of trauma exposure by becoming vicarious trauma-informed. This toolkit includes tools and resources tailored specifically to these fields that provide the knowledge and skills necessary for organizations to address the vicarious trauma needs of their staff. Below are some great places to start in the toolkit:

1. 1. https://ovc.ojp.gov/program/vtt/what-is-vicarious-trauma#vtt-model

   2. Human Resource Guidelines for a Vicarious Trauma-Informed Organization  

   3. Supervision Guidelines for a Vicarious Trauma-Informed Organization  

   4. Employee and Volunteer Assistance Program Guidelines For a Vicarious Trauma-Informed Organization 

   5. Peer Support Guidelines for a Vicarious Trauma-Informed Organization 

   6. Family Support Guidelines for a Vicarious Trauma-Informed Organization 

Advocacy Education and Support Project: Advocates with a Personal History of Violence or Trauma [53 pages]

This 8-session curriculum offers self-care and organizational strategies for advocates with a personal trauma history that organizations can use in-house to respond to the needs of advocates. Sessions include defining terms and understanding secondary traumatic stress, self-assessments of strengths and vulnerabilities, developing professional identity and personal boundaries, and more.

A Gecko’s Guide to Building Resiliency in Child Abuse Staff & Volunteers [84 pages]

The OVC Resiliency Project engaged researchers, educators, and practitioners from the child abuse field in a collaborative effort to develop, implement, and evaluate an organizationally based program to build resiliency in staff and volunteers. Twelve service organizations participated in the project. Key to the project were the pilot “resiliency coaches” who evaluated all training and technical assistance products related to the organizational program model. The model identified 5 key themes- self-knowledge and insight, sense of hope, healthy coping, strong relationships, and personal perspective and meaning– that can be promoted in the culture of organizations. Evaluation was conducted by the Institute on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault (IDVSA) at the University of Texas School of Social Work. This guide is a summary report of the project. (2014)

More on MiVAN:

Resources for Advocate Resilience
Trauma-Informed Practices