Navigating Vicarious Trauma
June 3, 2024
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When we think about what brought us to the work of gender-based violence, it is usually a personal experience, connection to the community, commitment to helping people, or a combination of these. Our jobs have titles such as victim advocate, community organizer, hotline counselor, staff attorney, communications assistant, or shelter manager. The details of the work may be different, but we are all vulnerable to vicarious trauma as we all bear witness to violence and its effects. You can learn more about vicarious trauma and steps to address it by attending our upcoming webinar:
Responding to Vicarious Trauma: Institutional and Personal Strategies to Deal with Latin@s Facing GBV
Thursday, July 18, 2024 at 1:00 PM EST
Vicarious trauma is a negative reaction to being exposed to trauma. It can sneak up on us or be an obvious load we carry. Though it is not from a direct experience of trauma, its symptoms can mirror the experience of PTSD. Along with known trauma symptoms, we may find ourselves dreading going to work more intensely than the Monday blues. You could be avoiding calling clients, struggling to leave work on time, or having nightmares about a survivor’s situation.
Our empathy is our strength, but like any muscle, you must nurture it and let it rest for it to grow and be sustainable. However, it takes more than personal tools and self-care to foster a vicarious trauma-informed environment where a different response to trauma exposure, like vicarious resilience, can prosper. We need systemic support.
Join our webinar, Responding to Vicarious Trauma: Institutional and Personal Strategies to Deal with Latin@s Facing GBV on July 18, 2024, at 1 p.m. ET to learn about vicarious trauma and the supports we can use to mitigate it. This webinar is part of the partnership between Esperanza United and WomensLaw, a project of the National Network to End Domestic Violence.
In the meantime, we encourage you to connect with your support system via pod mapping, rediscovering the things you enjoy doing, and reading about the radical history of self-care. If you are curious about organizational change, a good place to start is the Vicarious Trauma Toolkit from the Office for Victims of Crime.