Title: 
Headings: Secondary Traumatic Stress Overview
Secondary
 
Traumatic
 
Stress
 
Overview
 

Definitions:
 

Common
 
Sources
 
of
 
Secondary
 
Traumatic
 
Stress:
 

Statistics:
 

How
 
to
 
recognize
 
it?
 

Affects:
 

Prevention:
  

Methods:
 

Current
 
Practices:
 


Content: create
 
lower
 
morale,
 
and
 
less
 
effective
 
workers. Consequently,
 
this
 
can
 
produce
 
poorer
 
outcomes
 
for
 
children
 
and
 
families. One
 
of
 
the
 
reasons
 
that
 
child
 
case
 
workers
 
prematurely
 
leave
 
their
 
jobs
 
is
 
thought
 
to
 
be
 
exposure
 
to
 
Secondary
 
Trauma
 
(Siegfried,
 
2008). High
 
turnover
 
increases
 
agency
 
costs
 
in
 
the
 
recruiting,
 
hiring,
 
and
 
training
 
of
 
new
 
staff. Prevention: “Experience
 
has
 
shown
 
that
 
a
 
systemic
 
prevention
 
program
 
can
 
maintain
 
helpers’
 
wellbeing
 
and
 
decrease
 
individual
 
and
 
organizational
 
losses
 
like
 
turn
 
over
 
(Stamm,
 
2002).” By
 
showing
 
recognition
 
of
 
secondary
 
trauma
 
agencies
 
can
 
begin
 
to
 
show
 
workers
 
that
 
the
 
agency
 
cares
 
about
 
their
 
health
 
and
 
well-being. Education
 
on
 
trauma
 
informed
 
care
 
including
 
secondary
 
trauma
 
is
 
crucial
 
in
 
prevention
 
and
 
in
 
the
 
retention
 
of
 
workers. Agency
 
acknowledgement
 
helps
 
to
 
reduce
 
the
 
stigma
 
and
 
silence
 
around
 
the
 
impact
 
of
 
their
 
cases. Knowing
 
others
 
are
 
experiencing
 
similar
 
affects,
 
feeling
 
supported
 
and
 
prepared
 
to
 
deal
 
with
 
cases
 
can
 
reduce
 
the
 
negative
 
impacts
 
on
 
caseworkers
 
and
 
decrease
 
the
 
potential
 
for
 
secondary
 
trauma.