become increasingly evident that the psychological effects of traumatic events, such as childhood sexual abuse, domestic violence, catastrophes, war, and terrorism, reach beyond those directly affected (Bride, 2007). This is an important area of investigation because healthy, psychologically present, and committed professionals are in a better position to offer assistance to trauma survivors than those providers who suffer from symptoms of compassion fatigue and burnout. Drawing from descriptive and numerical data, this study first explores the experiences and perceptions of clinicians working with trauma survivors-their recognition of symptoms of job stress, their identification of resources that enhance their resilience, and their discussion of specific strategies for professional self-care. Second, using crosssectional data, the study examines the significant roles played by social support, work environment, emotional self-awareness, and trauma history in therapists' reported levels of compassion satisfaction, fatigue, and burnout. Implications of this study for organizational policy, and the way we think about coping strategies, are also presented. L ocal and global events have raised our collective consciousness about how traumatic events like the September 11 attacks and Hurricane Katrina affect specific communities ("Ground Zero" in Manhattan, New Orleans) and specific populations (e.g., fire fighters, police, service workers, military personnel, and their families). For example, a few studies have examined the efficacy of service delivery to those hardest hit by the 9/11 attacks (Figley, 2002). A less studied phenomenon is the impact of extended exposure to traumatized populations on helping professionals providing such services (Adams, Boscarino, & Figley, 2006). It has There is burgeoning interest in secondary traumatic stress, compassion fatigue, and self-care in the helping professions. This multimethod study focused on therapists' stress and coping in their work with trauma survivors, identifying factors related to resilience and burnout. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 20 clinicians subscribing to a systems perspective, and 104 clinicians were administered a questionnaire inquiring about their caseloads, trauma history, coping styles, emotional self-awareness, work stress, compassion satisfaction, compassion fatigue, and burnout. Interview data demonstrated that therapists detect job stress through bodily symptoms, mood changes, sleep disturbances, becoming easily distracted, and increased difficulty concentrating. Self-care strategies included processing with peers/supervisor, spirituality, exercise, and spending time with family. In the quantitative study, social support, work hours, and internal locus of control accounted for 41% of the variance in compassion satisfaction. Multiple regression procedures accounted for 54% of the variance in compassion fatigue and 74% of the variance in burnout. Implications for clinical training and organizational policy are discussed.

Professionals working in the fields of trauma, victim assistance, mental health, law enforcement, fire response, emergency medical services, and other professions are exposed to traumatic events on a regular basis; in some cases, workers are exposed every day. Vicarious trauma (VT) refers to the exposure to the trauma experiences of others, considered an occupational challenge for all of these professions. Research can assist in development of strategies to avoid being left vulnerable to negative impacts of this work, known as vicarious traumatization or secondary traumatic stress (STS). This article reviews existing research and outlines a research agenda for addressing vicarious traumatization/STS in the workplace. The review is organized by the 4 steps of a public health approach: (a) defining the problem including measuring the scope or prevalence, (b) identifying risk and protective factors for negative outcomes, (c) developing interventions and policies, and (d) monitoring and evaluating interventions and policies over time. A research agenda for the field is put forward following these same steps.

This study explores the process by which interracial spouses construct narratives about their racial histories, identities, and experiences in their relationship together. Ten black-white couples were interviewed individually and conjointly. The results reflected interracial spouses' experience of their life together, their perception of others' perceptions of them, and their unique processes of negotiating racial, gender, and class differences. Black spouses, compared with white spouses, demonstrated a greater awareness of and sensitivity to social resistance to interracial couples, and black spouses' familial and personal histories were sometimes relegated to silence in the couple relationship. I discuss recommendations for marriage and family therapists working with interracial spouses.

This qualitative study examines the coexistence of vicarious resilience and vicarious trauma and explores the inclusion of intersectional identities in trauma work with torture survivors in specialized programs across the United States. A constructionist framework and a method of constant comparison discovered themes that speak about the effects of witnessing how clients cope constructively with adversity, and intersectional identities in social context. The data suggest that trauma therapists can be potentially transformed by their clients' resilience in positive, but not painless, ways. Choosing to work in the trauma field with survivors of torture and politically motivated violence involves immersion in profound ongoing experiences of intertwined pain, joy, and hope, and expanding the boundaries of selfpersonally and professionally.

This study explores inter-racial couples' family histories, their experiences of their life together, and the dominant and subordinate discourses employed in negotiating racial and ethnic differences. Ten black-white couples were interviewed individually and conjointly. Dominant discourses that emerged from the couples' narratives included those of homogamy, hypersensitivity of persons of color, and the insignificance of familial and societal history. Interracial partners also simultaneously subverted these prevailing ideologies by voicing experience associated with life at the margins of the society. Dominant and subordinate dicourses used by therapists and interracial couples in the therapy room are examined to integrate marginalized "truths" crucial to effective work with interracial couples and persons of color.