Introduction
When you manage or support teams working with exposure to trauma, like frontline services, mental health support, child protection, counselling, health care, social work and law; you know the dedication and compassion your teams put into their roles. For you, it's important to recognise that consistent exposure to other people’s trauma can take a toll on your staff’s emotional well-being over time, even if they don’t show immediate signs. Vicarious trauma—also known as secondary trauma—can gradually affect your team over time, leading to emotional exhaustion, decreased work performance, and can spill over to impact in their personal life.
In this guide, we’ll explore the signs of vicarious trauma, explain its impact on individuals and teams, and offer practical prevention strategies to help you take proactive steps in protecting your staff. Plus, we’ve included a shareable infographic that covers the key takeaways and can be shared among your team and your fellow managers. (Below)
What is vicarious trauma?
Vicarious trauma occurs when an individual is repeatedly exposed to the traumatic experiences of others, which can lead to emotional, psychological, and sometimes physical effects. While it’s most common among professionals in healthcare, social work, emergency services, and legal fields, vicarious trauma can affect anyone who works with people in distress. Unlike burnout, which stems from work overload, vicarious trauma is specifically tied to the emotional weight of hearing and witnessing others’ trauma.
Recognising the signs
The effects of vicarious trauma may not always be obvious, especially early on in a person’s career. However, there are some signs that people leaders and managers can watch for to intervene before the trauma escalates. Here are some signs to be mindful of:
Emotional: Irritability, anger, sadness, or increased emotional reactivity (e.g., crying easily).
Cognitive: Difficulty concentrating, confusion, or intrusive thoughts related to the traumas they’ve been exposed to.
Physical: Exhaustion, headaches, changes in appetite, or changes in sleep patterns.
Behavioural: Withdrawal from colleagues, loss of interest in work, resentment towards the organisation, or increased absenteeism.
Interpersonal: Strained relationships, difficulty establishing boundaries, de-personalising clients, or over-identifying with clients.
Understanding these impacts is the first step in recognising when staff might be experiencing vicarious trauma. Often, it manifests subtly, making it vital for people leaders and managers to stay mindful and open to changes in behaviour and emotional responses within the team.
The impact on your organisation
Vicarious trauma can have significant implications when its left unchecked and unnoticed, both at the personal and the organisational levels.
Reduced productivity: Employees suffering from vicarious trauma can find it difficult to focus, leading to decreased productivity and errors in their work which leads to reduced self-esteem in the work place, exacerbating the impact of vicarious trauma.
Increased turnover: High levels of stress and trauma exposure can cause staff to seek other employment, leading to higher turnover rates.
Lower morale: When one team member is affected, it can ripple through the workplace, reducing overall morale and increasing tension among colleagues.
Client care declines: The emotional toll of vicarious trauma can affect how staff interact with clients, sometimes leading to less effective care or even retraumatising clients through disengagement.
Proactive prevention strategies
The good news is that there are many ways to mitigate vicarious trauma and support the mental health of your team, and lots of them are free. Here are practical steps you can implement as a manager or people leader:
Education and awareness: Provide ongoing training and information about vicarious trauma, its signs, and its impact. Encourage open discussions in group meetings so that your staff feel comfortable acknowledging the difficulties they may face. This also helps them feel less isolated and alone. Nurture the idea that vicarious trauma is a normal response to the abnormal situation of constant exposure to other people’s trauma.
Foster a supportive environment: Create a workplace culture where team members feel supported and heard. Regularly check in with your staff and offer opportunities for debriefing and peer support groups. This can include regular one-on-one check ins, and a monthly group debrief. When people see they are not isolated the impact of vicarious trauma is much reduced.
Implement debriefing and supervision: Clinical debriefing sessions can be crucial for clinical and non-clinical staff who are regularly exposed to trauma. Ensure that professional supervision or mentoring is available, especially for frontline workers.
Encourage self-care: Promote and role model self-care as a priority, not just an option. Repeat the advice from the airlines: Put your own oxygen mask on first before helping others. Offer resources or incentives for self-care activities, such as wellness days, mindfulness sessions, or access to counselling services.
Workload management: Make sure that no single staff member is overloaded with emotionally heavy cases. Encourage rotations or breaks between intense assignments to avoid burnout.
Provide access to mental health services: Make sure that your staff have easy access to confidential counselling or and Employee Assistance Program (EAP) that can provide psychological support.
Encourage boundaries: Help staff develop healthy professional boundaries to prevent over-identifying with clients’ trauma. Encourage staff to take regular breaks, leave work at work, and engage in hobbies or activities outside of their professional roles. Start up a group chat on Teams or Slack about accomplishments and hobbies outside work.
Your personal connection: caring for staff well-being
As a team manager or people leader, you likely care very deeply about the well-being of your staff and you understand that their emotional health is a top priority. When your team feels supported and protected, they can provide better care and services to clients, ultimately improving organisational outcomes. Remember, it’s not only about addressing vicarious trauma after it has set in—it’s about creating an environment where prevention of vicarious trauma is part of everyday practice. Your organisation’s health is only as good as the emotional health of your workers.
By taking proactive steps, you can help your team continue to do the meaningful work that they are passionate about, without sacrificing their own mental health. And importantly, don’t forget to take care of yourself, too. The weight of managing a team and their well-being can be heavy—make sure you have support systems in place for your own emotional resilience.
Conclusion
Vicarious trauma can be insidious and hard to detect, but by educating yourself and your staff on the signs and taking proactive steps to support mental health, you can create a more resilient, healthy workplace. Remember, the emotional well-being of your team is integral to the success of your organisation, and addressing vicarious trauma early on can help foster long-term well-being for everyone involved.
Infographic: Signs of vicarious trauma and prevention strategies
Below is a simple, shareable infographic that can be passed on to your management team to help them stay aware of the risks of vicarious trauma and how to protect themselves and their teams.
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