“Many helping professionals are less aware of the more subtle effects of vicarious or secondary trauma they have experienced from their clients.

Vicarious trauma refers to an individual’s own psycho-emotional reactions due to his or her exposure to others’ traumatic experiences. This phenomenon was previously diagnosed as burnout or counter-transference and therefore dealt with as an individual psychological issue.  For professionals who are constantly working with traumatized populations, vicarious trauma becomes a much more serious issue because it can potentially compromise the caregivers’ health and well-being including increased incidence of secondary post-traumatic stress and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).  Self-help protocols for all helping professionals working in the field of trauma such as police, fire department, prisons, medical care workers etc, are necessary to avoid long-term damage to mind and body.”  {Continue here}