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Vicarious Trauma & Sustaining Resilience

Learn about vicarious trauma and resilience in the legal field. Understand the signs, impacts, and coping strategies against compassion fatigue and burnout. Discover organizational and personal methods to sustain psychological well-being.

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Vicarious Trauma & Sustaining Resilience

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  1. Vicarious Trauma & Sustaining Resilience Community Legal Centres Queensland presented By terevaka, Penny Gordon & Associates.

  2. Psychological Wellbeing at Work • Compassion fatigue. • Burnout. • Vicarious Trauma.

  3. Definition Of Vicarious Traumatisation (VT) • VT is the transformation of the worker’s inner experience as a result of empathic engagement with clients and their trauma material. (Pearlman & Saakvitne, 1995)

  4. The expectation that we can be immersed in suffering and loss daily and not be touched by it is as unrealistic as expecting to be able to walk through water without getting wet. (Remen, 1996)

  5. Characteristics Of Vicarious Trauma • Cumulative. • Inevitable. • Developmental. • Modifiable.

  6. Signs And Symptoms Of Vicarious Trauma • Behavioural. • Physical. • Cognitive. • Affective. • Frame of reference.

  7. Psychological Impacts Of Vicarious Trauma • Safety. • Intimacy. • Self esteem. • Trust. • Control. (Saakvitne, Pearlman, & TSI Staff, 1996)

  8. Susceptibility to VT • Unrealistic expectations of self. • A personal history of trauma. • Unfounded beliefs about the value of stoicism or non-responsiveness. • Personal coping strategies that do not help. • Current stressful personal life. • Reluctance or barriers to accessing support, supervision, EAP, etc.

  9. Who Is Most At Risk? Legal practitioners working in: • Domestic violence. • Family law. • Legal aid criminal law. (Levin & Greisberg, 2003)

  10. Australian Study Findings • VT higher in criminal law solicitors. • Higher levels of: • Subjective distress. • Self reported VT. • Depression. • Stress. • Cognitive changes in relation to safety and intimacy. • Avoidance, intrusions and hyperarousal. (Vrklevski & Franklin, 2008)

  11. Resilience:Definition • Being able to bounce back from setbacks and develop enduring strengths that help us stay effective in the face of tough demands and difficult circumstances. (Cooper, Flint-Taylor, & Pearn, 2013)

  12. Contributors To Resiliency • Personal abilities: • Social competence. • Problem solving skills. • Autonomy. • A sense of purpose and hope. • Environmental protective factors: • Caring relationships. • High expectations. • Opportunities for meaningful participation. (Constantine, Benard, & Diaz, 1999)

  13. Coping Strategies MT Emotional Regulation SEEDS - PERMA

  14. Neuropsychology • S – Social connection. • E – Exercise. • E – Education. • D – Diet. • S – Sleep. (Arden, 2015)

  15. Positive Psychology • Positive Emotions. • Engagement • Relationships • Meaning • Accomplishments (Seligman)

  16. Emotional Regulation Strategies • Relaxation • Mindfulness • Cognitive Reframing • Debriefing

  17. Mental Toughnessas a Mindset • Mental Toughness describes a mindset during pressured moments. Four factors: • Control • Clarity • Concentration • Commitment (Clough & Strycharczyk, 2015)

  18. Organisational Strategies Continuous attention to sustaining a healthy culture: • Structuring organisational downtime. • Valuing socialising, fun and humour. • Focusing on building cultures of self care and group/team care. • Focusing on wellbeing and celebration. • Ensuring shared operational values.

  19. Organisational Strategies Allocation of resources for support processes and structures: • Supervision processes. • Professional development. • Employee assistance scheme (counselling).

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