Vicarious trauma, who has experienced it?

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Rivi

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I noticed while reading Foa's book that pretty much every incident took place in a grocery store parking lot early in the morning, so I think of that every time I go to the grocery store by myself.

Not sure if that counts because it wasn't my own clients. With my own clients, I know someone who was victimized at a certain place and now I never want to visit there. Heh.

But I've never had, like, a PTSD-ish reaction.
 
Nothing that affected me terribly, but I did have a rather intense session with one (male) client who I had been seeing for awhile who ended up recounting several decades worth of sexual assault and rape by family members, friends and strangers (men and women), every violent act he'd ever committed ("possible" murders, countless assaults) all in the span of about 15 minutes in one of our final sessions. I was not myself for a few days, though recovered quickly after that.
 
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At the VA descriptions the vets told me of what it was like to kill people, both the horrified experiences and reflections and those that recounted triumph and pleasure, echo in me. I have had an acute stress reaction related to the death of a pt (not suicide, but shocking and gruesome). that helped me better understand the experience of some sx related to trauma, especially when the reactions are out of sync with ones current context
 
Interesting question. I work with trauma, too. I think it's inevitable to experience some sort of reaction when working with traumatized clients. Remember that this can also include numbing or avoidance, for example--it's not always a case of flashbacks or insomnia. I know I find myself reacting in ways where I decide I don't care anymore or don't want to listen to the client anymore. Sort of like compassion fatigue, but it is definitely a result of hearing about very violent traumas and almost feeling like it's hard to believe. I've also had supervision by someone who became very bitter and anxious in her professional work, and I'm sure this was a direct result of vicarious trauma.
 
I work with sexual assault and trafficked survivors now as a peer counselor and also as overnight staff (gotta get experience somewhere) and have found myself really bummed out or unable to sleep well in the past after talking to clients who are constantly in crisis. Sometimes I experience a sort of a weight in my chest when I speak with a person who is really distraught. The organizations I've worked with (primarily trauma) really emphasizes the importance of self care and helps to speak with supervisors or colleagues. Also, boundary setting can be very important when in more informal setting non counseling environments where there isn't necessarily a time limit like in sessions.
 
I also work with sexual assault survivors and I've had a lot of problems with vicarious trauma. When it's worst I have a lot of nightmares about the things people have told me. Most of the time, I just carry around a certain amount of fear, especially at night.

Of course, I started off having PTSD myself, so it makes sense that my work would compound the problem. I try to just practice good self-care, take time off when I need it, and work around the rest of it.
 
This year I am working with kids who have been sexually abused. I have definitely experienced vicarious traumatization from some of the sessions in which a client has recounted a particularly graphic instance of abuse and by reading (blast my active imagination) written accounts by kiddos. My sx's mostly include intrusive thoughts which seem to fade over time. So far.
 
I also work with sexual assault survivors and I've had a lot of problems with vicarious trauma. When it's worst I have a lot of nightmares about the things people have told me. Most of the time, I just carry around a certain amount of fear, especially at night.

Of course, I started off having PTSD myself, so it makes sense that my work would compound the problem. I try to just practice good self-care, take time off when I need it, and work around the rest of it.

Yeah..I've started carrying around a pocket knife just in case since I get off work so early in the morning. Sometimes I can't believe I lived through 26 years of life not getting hurt like some of the people I've worked with and consider myself fortunate.
 
Yeah..I've started carrying around a pocket knife just in case since I get off work so early in the morning. Sometimes I can't believe I lived through 26 years of life not getting hurt like some of the people I've worked with and consider myself fortunate.

Iv'e started carrying around a pocket knife too. Except my pocket knife has a bottle opener on it so in case I come across a bottle of beer I can....never mind.
 
Iv'e started carrying around a pocket knife too. Except my pocket knife has a bottle opener on it so in case I come across a bottle of beer I can....never mind.

now now...we all know beer is probably not the best answer to vicarious trauma haha :thumbup: though
 
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