Vicarious or Secondary Trauma

What is vicarious or secondary trauma?

The terms vicarious or secondary trauma refer to how we are affected by exposure to other people’s suffering. These terms refer to: 

The expectation that we can be immersed in suffering and loss daily and not be touched by it is as unrealistic as expecting to be able to walk through water without getting wet.1 Rachel Remen

The following are natural feelings and behaviors we may experience.2 

With vicarious or secondary trauma the:

> psychological toll of seeing the suffering of others can impact our worldview, changing how we see ourselves, our work, others, and the world.

With burnout we can:

> feel physical, mental, or emotional exhaustion caused by overwork or chronic stress, which can cause high levels of fatigue and work dissatisfaction.

A transformation can take place within us as a result of exposure to the suffering of other living beings. We are talking about ways in which the world looks and feels like a different place to you as a result of doing your work.3 Laura van Dernoot Lipsky

Click here for a handout on the signs and symptoms of vicarious and secondary trauma. 

Levels of vicarious and secondary trauma

Most often, conversations about vicarious and secondary trauma focus on the individual – emphasizing the different ways that we can address our personal experiences to maintain our capacity to support others.

The following diagram helps us explore responses to exposure to trauma at different levels from an individual to community/society response.

In this module, we will also explore broader organizational and societal factors. 

 

Sources:

  1. Rachel Naomi Remen (1996) “Kitchen Table Wisdom: Stories that Heal” Penguin, New York

  2. Françoise Mathieu (2012). The Compassion Fatigue Workbook. Routledge

  3. Laura van Dernoot Lipsky and Connie Burk (2009, p.41). Trauma Stewardship: An everyday guide to caring for self while caring for others.