1. Vicarious Trauma:
It Seems to be Taking Over My Life!
Presentation by Greg Carlsson, L.M.F.T.
Pasadena, California (626) 568-7991
gregcarlsson@sbcglobal.net

2. Activity
Part 1
Mindful Breathing:
Mindfulness is “paying attention, in a particular way; on
purpose, in the present moment, and non
judgmentally.”

3. Objectives
1. Understand the working definitions of:
Vicarious Trauma
Secondary Trauma
Compassion Fatigue
Burn Out
2. Understand the ‘parallel trauma process’ between
students and care providers.
3. Gain a better understanding of where trauma is held
in our bodies.
4. Learn clinical tools to work through identified
traumas.

5. To be trusted with another’s trauma
is not to be taken lightly.
Trauma may not be what we signed up for...
but its part of the job. If we are to continue with this
work, we must embrace our reaction to trauma, learn
from it and move forward.

6. Trauma, Fatigue and Burnout.

7. Primary Trauma: A traumatic event that has
happened to you.
Primary trauma can happen at work or stem from our past
trauma history.
As helping professionals it’s important that we address our
own trauma history. Research shows that about 60% of
helping professionals have a trauma history of their own.
Our own trauma history may play a role in why we become
involved in a helping profession. If our own past trauma is
not addresses, we may become more vulnerable while doing
the work.
Adapted from The compassion fatigue workbook: creative tools for transforming
compassion fatigue and vicarious traumatization, Francoise Mathieu

8. Secondary Trauma: You are not at the event but
learning about it at a later date.
Secondary exposure refers to not experiencing the
trauma first hand but hearing about it, reading a report
describing it, or maybe seeing photos of the traumatic
event.
Both Primary and Secondary Trauma can cause Post
Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Adapted from The compassion fatigue workbook: creative tools for transforming
compassion fatigue and vicarious traumatization,
Francoise Mathieu.

9. Symptoms might be characterized by:
Nightmares
Having intrusive thoughts about the traumatic event.
Depression
The lack interest in important areas of life.
Becoming immobilized in certain parts of your life.

10. .
Vicarious Trauma: The profound shift that you may experience in your
world view when you work with individuals who have experienced
trauma
You may begin to see the word in a different way.
Vicarious Trauma also occurs when the stories we hear transform us
in a way that also traumatizes us.
We find it difficult to rid ourselves of the stories we have been told. These
images and experiences can stay with us for a very long time.
It is not something that clients do to us; it is a human consequence of
knowing, caring and facing the reality of trauma.
Adapted from Saakvitne K.W., Perman, L.A., & Staff (1996) p. 25

11. Compassion Fatigue:
A general erosion of our empathy, hope and compassion for
life may begin to surface.
A reduction in our ability to be genuinely compassionate may
occur.
Who: Teachers, psychologists, nurses and other helpingprofessionals
Symptoms may include:
A profound emotional and physical exhaustion
A bitterness towards work
Changes in our personal and professional lives.
Becoming part of a toxic work environment.
Adapted from The compassion fatigue workbook: creative tools for transforming compassion
fatigue and vicarious traumatization/
Francoise Mathieu.

12. Burnout :
Physical and emotional exhaustion that workers can
experience when they have low job satisfaction, feel
powerless and overwhelmed at work.
Adapted from The compassion fatigue workbook: creative tools for transforming
compassion fatigue and vicarious traumatization,
Francoise Mathieu.

13. Exhaustion, irritability, and anger, caused at work, may
be transferred to your loved ones. You may feel as
though they should be as compassionate as you are!
“Why donʼt they see this work as important as I do.”
Your body may also take the impact.

15. Vicarious Trauma, Compassion Fatigue & Burn Out are
not exclusive and can build on each other.
We can begin to feel alienated at home
and not feel supported by our families or friends.

16. Risk Factors
that can cause one
to be more vulnerable to S.T., V.T.:
1. A history of childhood trauma
2. Difficult life circumstances
3. The use of vices may be used
to escape the overwhelming sadness
coming from the trauma;
Food,
Drugs,
Excessive work
Excessive alcohol
Sex...

17. Activity
Part II
1. Think of a situation that might apply to
one of the above areas.
2. Take three minutes, turn to your
neighbor, and share your story.
3. Donʼt get too graphic.
4. While sharing, reflect on your feelings.

18. Your body can be a barometer.
Notice where in your body you hold
the tension.
As you were sharing your story,
did you feel parts of your body
tensing up?

19. Activity
Part III
Butterfly Hugs,
Bilateral stimulation
&
Mindful Breathing

20. 1. Complete the “Mindful Breathing” again while adding
the Butterfly Hugs.
2. Notice where you hold the tension.
3. When breathing out, focus on releasing the tension
from your body.
4. Notice if you are holding on to the tension.

21. When hearing about stressful situations first hand,
do you notice your body becoming more tense?

22. Self Awareness - The relationship between physical and
emotional health is paramount to understanding our
relationship to trauma and stress.

23. Self Awareness in the present
Self Awareness of the past
Self Awareness for the future.

24. Self Awareness in the present:
Understanding how current tension in our lives effect
our physical and emotional well being.
Self Awareness of the past:
The influences that our past life experiences - good and
bad have had on our current work and life choices.
Self Awareness for the future:
Making changes now that will effect our future physical
and emotional well being.

25. Activity
Part IV
The Empty Container
For the time being, take the negative impact of the
trauma or situation and “let it go” in to a container you
have created in your mind.
1. Picture a strong container like a
tupperware, treasure locker, ocean liner...
2. Practice opening it and closing it.
3. Feelings, thoughts or memories you don’t want to
think about right now, flow from your head into your
container.

26. 4. Take your time, this can take a while. When you
have everything you want in the container,
close it up.
5. Notice how your body feels.
6. You decide when you want to open your container
and take out one item at a time
7. Use this when ever you want to temporarily set
something aside.

27. Be aware of your own process.
External: The way you interact with the rest of the
world (Secondary Trauma, Vicarious
Trauma, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder).
Internal: The way your body holds the trauma e.g.
Tension in parts of your body.
Unable to fall asleep at night.
lack of appetite.
Bingeing on comfort foods.
A
Adapted from Trauma Stewardship: An everyday guide to caring for self while
caring for others, Laura van Dernoot Lipsky with Connie Burk

28. In both the personal and professional realm, it is about
mindfulness, the ability to recognize and control your
physical symptoms of stress and anxiety, and your
breathing.

29. The Parallel Process
When a trauma is shared by a group, each person has
their own trauma history which may impact their
reaction to the current trauma.
Based on our trauma history, we may share similar or
different reactions to the trauma with the person we
are helping.
This process may parallel your student’s process. Be
aware of your reactions internally and externally to the
trauma.

30. With some trauma situations, you may not have the
luxury of processing your own needs, if you are
responsible for helping others.
Use the breathing techniques taught earlier and utilize
bilateral stimulation (the butterfly hugs) to help calm
yourself and focus on those you are helping.
Adapted from Compassion Fatigue,
The Crucible of Transformation 2002 article, Eric Gentry:

31. Activity
Part v
Peaceful Place, Person or Animal:
1, Pick a place where you feel calm and peaceful, like the
mountains or the beach.
2. If you don’t have a real place you can make one up. If this
seems to be difficult, try imagining a favorite pet
or a special person who brings you comfort.
3. Make sure you do not equate your place
with anything bad.
4. Close your eyes and apply the butterfly hugs
to the exercise.

32. As you tap, think about your place.
Next, decide on a word that reminds you of your
special place. You can use your word to “pull up” your
special place.

33. What personal set of circumstances, helped develop the
passion you hold for your work? Once you understand
and embrace your past, you can use it to strengthen
your current work situation.

35. Two key principles to help us address
V.T. and C.F.:
A non-anxious presence:
To be in a room with a child’s pain and suffering and be
able to express empathy and compassion without taking
on the child’s suffering.
Self-validated caregiving:
The self-care that is guilt-free, self-care that is
prioritized as a means of remaining healthy in the line of
work.

36. Ways to process your trauma history if it comes up:
1. Mindful Breathing.
2. Where am I holding the tension in my
body.
a. Breathing the tension out of my body.
3. Butterfly bugs

37. 4. Debriefing:
What do we say to whom, and when.
Talking with a peer,
(warnings of
the content).
5.
Asking permission to share, less is
more.
Do we really need to recap the entire
session or can we just say, “wow,
that was really difficult for me to
hear”.

39. Transition time from work to home.
Letting go of the work day and
transitioning to your private time.
1. Special music for the drive home or listening to a
book on CD.
.
2. Stopping for coffee or tea before arriving home.
Taking a walk first.
3. Going to the gym first.
4. Stopping a block away - Mindful breathing,
butterfly hugs, empty container.

40. Self Care: Four Steps to
Wellness.
1. Take stock in your body, your home
environment and work place.
Body Scan - Where is the tension?
2. Life /work balance. Work Hard...
Play Harder.
Refueling during the day.
Mini breaks: peaceful place, Mindful
Breathing, soothing music, soothing
sounds, butterfly hugs.
Planning trips for vacation

41. 3. Resiliency through Relaxation Training Yoga, meditation tapes,
Walking,
4. Making a commitment to change.
5. You can hold yourself accountable to
others.
6. Write down an area you would like to change
and place it where you can see it each day.
7. Create a mantra that reminds
you of the change.

42. Stop using rewards as a way to pay yourself back - In
doing so, you may be setting up tension with yourself
that may backfire –
If you want it and you know it’s healthy,
then have it because you want it.

44. Recapping our strategies:
Mindful Breathing
Body Scan, where am I holding the tension
Peaceful place, person or animal
Empty Container
Butterfly Hugs

45. We need to develop a support system for ourselves.
We can not work in a caring profession in isolation.
We must develop and rely on systems and tools to
support us if we plan to continue the work for a long
period of time.

46. Our capacity to help others and the environment is
greatest when we are willing and even determined to be
helped ourselves.

47. “Be the change you want to see in the world.”
- Gandhi.