Compassion Satisfaction and Vicarious Posttraumatic Growth Although vicarious trauma and secondary traumatization are related to “the cost of caring,” professionals also experience positive outcomes from working with trauma. Compassion satisfaction refers to the sense of fulfillment clinicians experience through empathetic attunement; positive feelings associated with caring and helping; and the clinician’s sense of achievement, motivation, and enjoyment from their work (Martin-Cuellar et al., 2021). Professionals can also experience an indirect form of posttraumatic
growth (PTG). Vicarious posttraumatic growth (VPTG) encompasses the positive developments that can stem from trauma work, including resilience, new meaning-making, a deeper connection to trauma work, and an enriched and empowered sense of self (Neswald-Potter & Simmons, 2016). In a way similar to that of client-experienced PTG, professionals can simultaneously experience the negative impact of vicarious trauma and the positive changes of VPTG (Neswald-Potter & Simmons, 2016).
CONCLUSION
National Center for PTSD http://www.ptsd.va.gov/
Clinicians must remain centered and self-aware and maintain well-defined boundaries to be able to effectively facilitate the demanding clinical work of treating trauma survivors. Because empathy and resonance are two primary means of connecting with clients, workers can become vulnerable to vicarious traumatization, also referred to as compassion fatigue. Studies involving mirror neurons indicate that observing an action or reaction can create the same neural firings in the brain of the observer as those experienced by the originator of the action or emotion. This physiological basis for the contagion effect of vicarious emotional distress has implications for worker self-care. Maintaining a dual awareness of the reality of the clinical surroundings and simultaneously attending to the reality of one’s internal world and responses can often be enough to prevent an unchecked countertransference response. Clear thinking on the part of the clinician can be maintained by attending to the balance between self and other and by employing various internal and external strategies to avoid emotional flooding. A number of strategies for personal, professional, and organizational approaches were delineated in this chapter. Utilizing a full set of resources for self-care during clinical hours as well as during private time will help to prevent burnout from this demanding work. Resources Harvard University, Center on the Developing Child http://developingchild.harvard.edu/ The mission of Harvard University’s multidisciplinary Center on the Developing Child is to marshal science-based innovation to address both policy and practice in order to help children challenged by adversity. Homeopathy Home www.homeopathyhome.com Homeopathy Home acts as a clearinghouse for goods and services related to homeopathy, directing the user to commercial and noncommercial sites, along with references and research information. International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation (ISSTD) www.isst-d.org/ The ISSTD is a professional and educational organization that seeks to spread knowledge concerning chronic trauma and dissociation.
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) offers resources concerning trauma and posttraumatic stress disorder for researchers and health care providers, as well as the general public. Although the VA is always available to help providers who treat veterans, the agency sometimes also offers help to clinicians who are involved in the treatment of survivors of mass disasters such as hurricanes, mass shootings, or wildfires. National Child Traumatic Stress Network http://nctsn.org/ The mission of the National Child Traumatic Stress Network is to help children and adolescents exposed to trauma receive the services they need. This organization offers links, resources, and fact sheets for professionals and the general public. National Institutes of Health National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health—Complementary, Alternative, or Integrative Health: What’s in a Name? https://nccih.nih.gov/health/integrative-health The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health offers an overview of complementary, alternative, and integrative medicine, and what exactly is meant by each term. National Institutes of Health National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health—Homeopathy https://nccih.nih.gov/health/homeopathy The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health offers evidence-based information on homeopathy. Trauma Center (at Justice Research Institute) http://www.traumacenter.org/ The Trauma Center provides services to children and adults who have experienced trauma, as well as to their families.
WORKS CITED https://qr2.mobi/IntCompTT
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