Vicarious trauma in therapists: a meta-ethnographic review

McNeillie, Natalie; Rose, John

doi:10.1017/s1352465820000776

Cited by 10 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 41 publications

(48 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…For example, therapists are often exposed to the traumatic experiences of others which can result in the therapists themselves experiencing stress (Bride, 2004). Continued exposure to the traumatic experiences of others can have emotional and behavioural consequences on the therapist's health (Newell & MacNeil, 2010), such as sadness, lethargy, anxiety, guilt and shame (McCann & Pearlmann, 1990; McNeillie & Rose, 2021). This is often referred to as secondary traumatic stress, compassion fatigue or vicarious trauma.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A mixed‐method exploration of mental toughness, perceived stress and quality of life in mental health workers

Turkington,

Tinlin‐Dixon,

St Clair‐Thompson

2023

Psychiatric Ment Health Nurs

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Accessible SummaryWhat is Known on the Subject? Staff working with other people's mental health are in more danger of experiencing high stress at work. These members of staff are more likely to have mental health problems themselves. Previous research has suggested that training these members of staff to deal with their daily stress and become mentally tougher can protect them. What this Paper Adds to Existing Knowledge? The findings showed that higher levels of perceived stress and reduced quality of life in mental health workers were related to lower levels of mental toughness. This research provides a detailed understanding of the current issues experienced in a range of different mental health settings, which may contribute to stress and quality of life. The research highlights the importance of protecting staff mental wellbeing, controlling and reducing levels of stress and suggests that one route to doing this is improving mental toughness. What are the Implications for Practice? These findings suggest a need to increase the awareness of and further protect the mental health of staff working in the mentioned settings. Staff working in mental health settings should be provided with information about how to enhance mental toughness and how to reduce stress. This will lead to a better quality of life for mental health staff and in turn improve the quality of care provided. AbstractIntroductionClinicians working in mental health services are at increased risk of stress at work. Previous work suggests that mental toughness is a protective mechanism for stress in other professions. This has not yet been examined in mental health workers.Aim/QuestionTo examine whether mental toughness predicts perceived stress and quality of life in mental health workers, to develop an understanding of the factors contributing to and techniques used to deal with stress in this population.MethodSixty‐two workers completed measures of mental toughness, perceived stress, quality of life and answered questions regarding their personal experience of stress at work.ResultsMental toughness was a predictor of stress (F(7, 54) = 10.58, p < .001) and quality of life (F(6, 55) = 7.58, p < .001, F(7, 54) = 7.15, p < .001 and F(7, 54) = 6.81, p < .001, for compassion satisfaction, burnout and secondary traumatic stress, respectively), with particular roles for the interpersonal confidence and control of life components. Qualitative analysis revealed sources of stress for health workers and a variety of stress management techniques to cope with workplace stress. The findings suggested that mental toughness develops in some but not all health workers due to the demands of their role.DiscussionThe findings provide an insight into stress, quality of life and protective factors for stress in mental health workers and suggest that future research should consider mental toughness training in mental health workers.Implications for PracticeThere is a need to increase the awareness of factors contributing to stress in mental health workers, such as a lack of resources and staff, and to promote organizational change to improve their professional quality of life. Future research should also explore the potential of mental toughness training in this population.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A mixed‐method exploration of mental toughness, perceived stress and quality of life in mental health workers

Turkington,

Tinlin‐Dixon,

St Clair‐Thompson

2023

Psychiatric Ment Health Nurs

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In the seminal paper of [ 13 ], the authors describe vicarious trauma as the profound and lasting emotional and psychological consequences of repeated indirect exposure to the traumatic experiences of others. Vicarious trauma arises from empathic engagement with traumatic material, including graphic narrative descriptions of violent experiences and exposure to the reality of people’s cruelty toward each other [ 14 ]. Vicarious trauma reactions include symptoms characteristic of PTSD, such as intrusive thoughts and images of the victim’s trauma, avoidance and emotional numbing, and symptoms of hyperarousal [ 11 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“The Ugliness of It Seeps into Me”: Experiences of Vicarious Trauma among Female Psychologists Treating Survivors of Sexual Assault

Padmanabhanunni

Gqomfa

2022

IJERPH

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The current study explores the lived experiences of female psychologists who provide psychological treatment to women survivors of sexual assault. These practitioners are a population of special interest due to the frequency of their exposure to narratives and graphic images of sexual trauma. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 15 female South African psychologists. The data, which were analyzed using an interpretative phenomenological approach, revealed experiences characteristic of vicarious traumatization. Participants reported having an enhanced sense of personal vulnerability to sexual assault and heightened awareness of the betrayals of trust that women experience from male figures, which has led to increased mistrust of men and hypervigilance regarding the safety of their daughters. Internalization of feelings of helplessness experienced by the victim evoked self-blame for practitioners and appraisals of being complicit in abuse. Practitioners also experienced survivor guilt about being spared from harm. Symptoms of intrusive re-experiencing of client trauma and cognitive and behavioral disengagement were evident. These findings have important implications for clinical practice and underscore the necessity for clinicians to cultivate an awareness of the impact of treating sexual trauma and working in ways that are self-protective.

show abstract