“Vicarious Trauma” Phenomen in the Psychotherapeutic Practice

Diogenes ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rumyana Krumova-Pesheva ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder ◽  
Traumatic Stress ◽  
Vicarious Trauma ◽  
Stress Disorder ◽  
Acute Stress ◽  
Post Traumatic Stress ◽  
Burn Out ◽  
Personal Consequences ◽  
Acute Stress Reaction ◽  
Post Traumatic

Working with various personal stories provokes a variety of countertransference “responses” in psychotherapists. Patients’ words “awaken” feelings and experiences with discrete or intense affective resonance for the specialist. They are associated with extremely painful emotions that cause strong sensations and threaten ones’ feeling for stability, safety and security. The purpose of the material is to present the interpretation of vicarious trauma, which is expressed in intense or cumulative traumatism that could lead to serious emotional and personal consequences. It is provoked by extremely stressful material from patients in the clinical practice. It is important to be distinguished from the burn-out - syndrome, acute stress reaction, post-traumatic stress disorder, etc.

scholarly journals Treating adults with acute stress disorder and post‐traumatic stress disorder in general practice: a clinical update

2007 ◽  
Vol 187 (2) ◽  
pp. 120-123 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Forbes ◽  
Mark C Creamer ◽  
Andrea J Phelps ◽  
Anne‐Laure Couineau ◽  
John A Cooper ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
General Practice ◽  
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder ◽  
Traumatic Stress ◽  
Stress Disorder ◽  
Acute Stress ◽  
Acute Stress Disorder ◽  
Post Traumatic Stress ◽  
Post Traumatic

scholarly journals Perceptual processing advantages for trauma-related visual cues in post-traumatic stress disorder

2011 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. 173-181 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Kleim ◽  
T. Ehring ◽  
A. Ehlers
Keyword(s):  
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder ◽  
Traumatic Stress ◽  
Visual Cues ◽  
Stress Disorder ◽  
Acute Stress ◽  
Perceptual Processing ◽  
Trauma Survivors ◽  
Post Traumatic Stress ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Post Traumatic

BackgroundIntrusive re-experiencing in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) comprises distressing sensory impressions from the trauma that seem to occur ‘out of the blue’. A key question is how intrusions are triggered. One possibility is that PTSD is characterized by a processing advantage for stimuli that resemble those that accompanied the trauma, which would lead to increased detection of such cues in the environment.MethodWe used a blurred picture identification task in a cross-sectional (n=99) and a prospective study (n=221) of trauma survivors.ResultsParticipants with acute stress disorder (ASD) or PTSD, but not trauma survivors without these disorders, identified trauma-related pictures, but not general threat pictures, better than neutral pictures. There were no group differences in the rate of trauma-related answers to other picture categories. The relative processing advantage for trauma-related pictures correlated with re-experiencing and dissociation, and predicted PTSD at follow-up.ConclusionsA perceptual processing bias for trauma-related stimuli may contribute to the involuntary triggering of intrusive trauma memories in PTSD.

scholarly journals Vicarious trauma and secondary traumatic stress in health care professionals

2017 ◽  
Vol 86 (2) ◽  
pp. 42-43 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicole A Guitar ◽  
Monica L Molinaro
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder ◽  
Traumatic Stress ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Secondary Traumatic Stress ◽  
Vicarious Trauma ◽  
Stress Disorder ◽  
Traumatic Event ◽  
Post Traumatic Stress ◽  
Post Traumatic

Three-quarters of Canadians are exposed to a traumatic event sufficient to cause psychological trauma in their lifetime. In fact, post-traumatic stress disorder is a global health issue with a prevalence as high as 37%. Health care professionals trained to provide mental health treatment for these individuals are at risk of developing vicarious trauma and secondary traumatic stress, both of which result in adverse symptoms for the health care provider that often mimic post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Vicarious trauma develops over time as the clinician is continually exposed to their clients’ traumatic experiences, while clinicians experiencing secondary traumatic stress begin to experience the symptoms of PTSD due to secondary exposure of the traumatic event. Both vicarious trauma and secondary traumatic stress cause mental, physical, and emotional issues for health care professionals that include burnout and decreased self-worth. Health care systems and administration should aim to develop training and professional education for health care providers. This review will emphasize what factors lead to the development of vicarious trauma and secondary traumatic stress, and what aids or supports can be implemented to treat the symptoms. The implications for policy development and training will be discussed.

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