Title: 
Headings:  Vicarious Trauma
Fact
 
Sheet
 
#9
 

Vicarious
 
Trauma
 

Signs
 
and
 
symptoms
 
for
 
counselors:
 

Behavior:
 

Interpersonal:
 

Personal
 
values/beliefs:
 

Job
 
performance:
 


Content: Vicarious Trauma
Fact
 
Sheet
 
#9
 
10/11
 
Vicarious
 
Trauma
 
The
 
term
 
vicarious
 
trauma
 
(Perlman
 
&
 
Saakvitne,
 
1995),
 
sometimes
 
also
 
called
 
compassion
 
fatigue,
 
is
 
the
 
latest
 
term
 
that
 
describes
 
the
 
phenomenon
 
generally
 
associated
 
with
 
the
 
“cost
 
of
 
caring”
 
for
 
others
 
(Figley,
 
1982). Other
 
terms
 
used
 
for
 
compassion
 
fatigue
 
are: secondary
 
traumatic
 
stress
 
(Stemm,
 
1995,
 
1997)
 


 
secondary
 
victimization
 
(Figley,
 
1982)
 

It
 
is
 
believed
 
that
 
counselors
 
working
 
with
 
trauma
 
survivors
 
experience
 
vicarious
 
trauma
 
because
 
of
 
the
 
work
 
they
 
do. Vicarious
 
trauma
 
is
 
the
 
emotional
 
residue
 
of
 
exposure
 
that
 
counselors
 
have
 
from
 
working
 
with
 
people
 
as
 
they
 
are
 
hearing
 
their
 
trauma
 
stories
 
and
 
become
 
witnesses
 
to
 
the
 
pain,
 
fear,
 
and
 
terror
 
that
 
trauma
 
survivors
 
have
 
endured. It
 
is
 
important
 
not
 
to
 
confuse
 
vicarious
 
trauma
 
with
 
“burnout”. Burnout
 
is
 
generally
 
something
 
that
 
happens
 
over
 
time,
 
and
 
as
 
it
 
builds
 
up
 
a
 
change,
 
such
 
as
 
time
 
off
 
or
 
a
 
new
 
and
 
sometimes
 
different
 
job,
 
can
 
take
 
care
 
of
 
burnout
 
or
 
improve
 
it. Vicarious
 
trauma,
 
however,
 
is
 
a
 
state
 
of
 
tension
 
and
 
preoccupation
 
of
 
the
 
stories/trauma
 
experiences
 
described
 
by
 
clients. This
 
tension
 
and
 
preoccupation
 
might
 
be
 
experienced
 
by
 
counselors
 
in
 
several
 
ways. They
 
might: avoid
 
talking
 
or
 
thinking
 
about
 
what
 
the
 
•
 
be
 
in
 
a
 
persistent
 
arousal
 
state
 
trauma
 
effected
 
client(s)
 
have
 
been
 
talking
 
about,
 
almost
 
being
 
numb
 
to
 
it
 
Counselors
 
should
 
be
 
aware
 
of
 
the
 
signs
 
and
 
symptoms
 
of
 
vicarious
 
trauma
 
and
 
the
 
potential
 
emotional
 
effects
 
of
 
working
 
with
 
trauma
 
survivors.