Workers in caregiving professions, emergency services workers, police, and frontline workers in hospitals may experience at some time in their career vicarious trauma. People in these fields are exposed to other people’s trauma stories, traumatic incidents, and life-threatening situations. Workers in these areas can also experience burnout and compassion fatigue. Despite holding some symptoms in common, vicarious trauma differs from burnout and compassion fatigue.
Determining the differences between compassion fatigue, burnout and vicarious trauma is essential.
Burnout generally occurs when there is a high demand and minimal supports in place to support that pressure. This results in emotional exhaustion for the worker, a diminished sense of accomplishment and depersonalisation of their client’s experiences. Burnout happens with or without direct client contact and can also develop in response to vicarious trauma or compassion fatigue.
Compassion fatigue is a diminished capacity for a clinician or frontline worker in being empathic due to extended exposure to clinical work, unrealistic client caseloads, including managing multiple complex cases. Emergency service personnel’s exposure to traumatic incidents, violence both verbal and physical, can also result in decreased levels of empathy and investment in their work. Police also experience compassion fatigue due to constant exposure to life threatening situations during their career. Compassion fatigue can comprise both burnout and vicarious trauma.
Vicarious trauma on the other hand occurs incrementally over time, often through minimising trauma experiences, which results in a prolonged shift in the view of their world. Symptoms that can be associated with vicarious trauma are apathy, physical mental and emotional exhaustion, irritability, disillusionment, and cynicism. Vicarious trauma has the capacity to alter cognitive schemers of trust, power, safety, and intimacy, holding similarity to some interpersonal trauma. The greater risk to the individual, is that these occur beneath conscious awareness.
Recovery is Possible
It is possible to recover from burnout, compassion fatigue, and vicarious trauma. Self-care is essential to recovery. This can take many forms, here are a few suggestions.
1. Regularly process traumatic events in a safe clinical space via brainspotting is a
powerful way to access deep limbic systems where trauma is held.
2. Attend regular supervision, debriefing sessions, or peer support.
3. Reduce client load or number of complex cases.
4. Be comfortable with saying ‘no’ when we are no longer feeling comfortable.
5. Take regular breaks or holidays even if travel is not involved.
6. Engage in guided meditation through Apps such as Headspace.
7. Participate in movement exercises such as Tai chi, yoga, or some form of slow stretching.
8. Exercise, such as walking, running, boxing, circuit training, or group sports.
9. Spend time with animals, people you love, and maintain social connectedness with
friends.
10. Eat nutritionally balanced meals regularly.
11. Eliminate stimulants such as caffeine, alcohol, or illicit drugs.
12. Incorporate essential vitamins such as Omega-3, vitamin D, or vitamin B6.
13. Non-prescription sleep aids such as Melatonin, Valerian, or Restavit to ensure quality sleep.
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