Secondary Trauma in the Workplace: Tools for Awareness, Self-Care, and Organizational Responses in Montana

Abstract

This book is written for Montana’s victim service providers—the people who have chosen to dedicate their professional lives to helping the survivors of trauma. As providers, we are the ones working day in and day out with those who have endured some of the worst life has to offer, including sexual assault, child maltreatment, domestic violence, elder abuse, hate crimes, and other forms of violence, as well as traumas related to substance abuse, housing insecurity, accidents, natural disasters, and war. For those of us in this line of work, secondary trauma—an umbrella term for the trauma that results from repeated empathetic engagement with traumatized populations—is a very real and very serious issue. Secondary trauma can result in a whole assortment of physical and emotional issues, as well as contribute to staff turnover and shortages in providers. Like most providers working in Montana and across the nation, you may never have been taught that secondary trauma is a normal byproduct of your work, or been advised how you and the organization that employs you can effectively manage it. We want to change that.