Secondary Traumatic Stress
Trauma-informed care is an important part of healing. Trauma-informed care is the approach that everyone you meet has most likely experienced trauma (von Stackelburg, 2022). It encourages a culture of safety and understanding with those you work with, including clients and co-workers.
However, one such overlooked aspect of trauma-informed care is the experience of secondary traumatic stress. Secondary traumatic stress is emotional distress that occurs when someone hears about the first hand trauma experiences of others (von Stackelburg, 2022). It is incredibly common in those who work as case workers or those who work in child welfare, but it can be experienced by anyone.
Awareness of secondary traumatic stress is the first step towards protecting against it (von Stackelburg, 2022). Individual strategies include creating a defined work-life balance, as well as forming supportive relationships. Individuals can also try to “Walk, Talk, Flush” it out, and go on a walk outside or drink water to relax.
Organizations can also mitigate secondary traumatic stress by creating a positive work space, and by ensuring that all employees have manageable workloads. It is also crucial for organizations to recognize that employees of color are at a higher risk for secondary traumatic stress, as they are already impacted by oppression and white supremacy.
More information about secondary traumatic stress can be found here.
Von Stackelburg, J. “Trauma-Informed, Resilience-Building Training.” Zoom, February 16th and 17th, 2022.
