Burn out, Vicarious Traumatization and Compassion Fatigue are concepts that describe the impact of caring for others on the health care worker. It is an occupational hazard, an inescapable effect of dealing with pain, suffering and losses in the lives of others.
Beliefs are challenged by the stories of abandonment, betrayal, hurt and abuse experienced by the client. There is a sense of powerlessness when we realize that there is no way to stop bad things from happening to good people. Innocent children are subjected to suffering and are vulnerable in the hands of angry, ruthless care givers. The one way to overcome this powerlessness is to help the client process through their grief and suffering and help them focus on their present and future. Giving them the tools to empower themselves today so they can take charge of their lives and release themselves from the victimization.
Empathetically connecting to the traumatized person exposes the professional to becoming vulnerable to intense and overwhelming feelings. It also can disrupt the world view of right and wrong, good and bad. We all have beliefs about safety, control, expectations and predictable events. These can get threatened with consistent exposure to knowledge of unforeseen, extreme acts of violence, cruelty and violation of our rights as human beings.
For instance, rape crisis, domestic violence and child abuse prevention counselors have often shared the impact of their work on their personal lives. They have expressed shock, disbelief about the way their mind would go in dark places when there wasn’t any logical reasoning for morbid thoughts. Exhausted, tired after a long day of work, their defenses lowered, they have experienced fear walking from the car port of their apartment to their home. Something they have done repeatedly for years but somehow on those particular days, thoughts of being mugged, raped and assaulted crossed their minds. “If it could happen to her/him, it could happen to me.” The loss of familiarity and comfort of foreseeable outcomes is slowly getting ripped away. Or watching a family happily interacting in a park or restaurant, which is a pleasant sight; however, a burnt out, vicariously traumatized clinician might have depressing thoughts of distrust. For example, wondering whether this family is really happy or is the husband abusing his wife behind closed doors and is the child getting molested?
This is the time for the therapist/helper/nurturer to take a time out and reevaluate their perceptions. The sense of grounding and inner balance is impacted. The effects may cause the helper to feel ineffective in helping clients. How can one install hope in others when they themselves feel hopeless?
In my next blog I will share my thoughts about how to rejuvenate and maintain balance in our lives.
Beliefs are challenged by the stories of abandonment, betrayal, hurt and abuse experienced by the client. There is a sense of powerlessness when we realize that there is no way to stop bad things from happening to good people. Innocent children are subjected to suffering and are vulnerable in the hands of angry, ruthless care givers. The one way to overcome this powerlessness is to help the client process through their grief and suffering and help them focus on their present and future. Giving them the tools to empower themselves today so they can take charge of their lives and release themselves from the victimization.
Empathetically connecting to the traumatized person exposes the professional to becoming vulnerable to intense and overwhelming feelings. It also can disrupt the world view of right and wrong, good and bad. We all have beliefs about safety, control, expectations and predictable events. These can get threatened with consistent exposure to knowledge of unforeseen, extreme acts of violence, cruelty and violation of our rights as human beings.
For instance, rape crisis, domestic violence and child abuse prevention counselors have often shared the impact of their work on their personal lives. They have expressed shock, disbelief about the way their mind would go in dark places when there wasn’t any logical reasoning for morbid thoughts. Exhausted, tired after a long day of work, their defenses lowered, they have experienced fear walking from the car port of their apartment to their home. Something they have done repeatedly for years but somehow on those particular days, thoughts of being mugged, raped and assaulted crossed their minds. “If it could happen to her/him, it could happen to me.” The loss of familiarity and comfort of foreseeable outcomes is slowly getting ripped away. Or watching a family happily interacting in a park or restaurant, which is a pleasant sight; however, a burnt out, vicariously traumatized clinician might have depressing thoughts of distrust. For example, wondering whether this family is really happy or is the husband abusing his wife behind closed doors and is the child getting molested?
This is the time for the therapist/helper/nurturer to take a time out and reevaluate their perceptions. The sense of grounding and inner balance is impacted. The effects may cause the helper to feel ineffective in helping clients. How can one install hope in others when they themselves feel hopeless?
In my next blog I will share my thoughts about how to rejuvenate and maintain balance in our lives.