Vicarious Trauma and
Resiliency
Military and First Responders Mental Health Summit and Resource Fair—July 23, 2019
Melissa A. Jones, Ph.D., HSPP
Work Family
About me I’m a clinical psychologist
Licensed for 14 years
Working with trauma since my undergraduate career began in the late 1990s
Currently I do mostly assessments
Veterans’ and Indiana disability evaluations
Pre-employment screenings for local law enforcement
Other various assessments….ADHD, learning disorders, depression, anxiety, etc…
And….
….I’m a Firefighter’s wifeHe’s been on the Evansville Fire Department for 21 years and is First Shift Captain at station 16
So….
I have years of training and
research about trauma
and with trauma victims
I have years of clinical
experience with trauma
victims
I have the practical
experience of dealing with
my own clients’ trauma
I experience my husband dealing with
trauma as well since he is a
first responder
You could say
my entire
adult life has
focused on
trauma…
And, realistically, trauma pays that bills at
our house with my husband being a
firefighter and me working in the mental
health field.
Not only do we deal
with our clients’ traumaWe can experience our vicarious trauma
through our jobs as professionals
People in Helping Professions Experience Trauma in Various Ways
Trauma can
be caused
by….
Witnessing trauma while working/helping others
Seeing and being aware how frequent trauma is and how many people it affects
Frequently hearing about trauma others have experienced
Some trauma
will be more
difficult to
handle than
others
Maybe something hits close to home
Maybe an experience was especially gruesome
Maybe the situation dealt with a child in a particularly bad situation
Maybe the client has a very long history of trauma
Most of the trauma experienced rolls off, but there is always that one call….
I know there is one specific call that affected my husband greatly, even though it was not extra-ordinary
There is one case I can remember from when I interned at Albion in the 1990s that I still think of at times
Then there are the other cases we experience when we see the same client for several years and live their trauma with them as they experience it
As a first responder (police, fire, military), what do you do if you’re concerned about another first responder?
Ask for help Get someone higher in the chain of command involved if needed
Suggest Suggest professional help if needed
Listen Be willing to listen
Talk Talk with that person personally
Mental
Health
Stigma with
First
Responders
THERE CONTINUES TO BE A STIGMA
ABOUT MENTAL HEALTH TREATMENT,
ESPECIALLY IN THESE “TOUGH” OR
“MANLY” PROFESSIONS…POLICE,
FIRE, MILITARY
I’VE HEARD TEASING FOR YEARS
ABOUT “HEY…YOU NEED TO GO SEE
JONES’ WIFE”
THEY MAY STILL NEED TO BE
REASSURED THAT TREATMENT OR
THERAPY IS NOT A SIGN OF
WEAKNESS, BUT IT’S A SIGN OF HOPE
AND SELF-CARE
At times, the trauma we hear about and help clients work through can become traumatic for us as clinicians.
What helps people who are regularly exposed to trauma
deal with it better than others??
Some key factors are:
• Supportive Spouse
• Family you can rely on
• Friends that understand you and/or your experiences
Social support (external factor)
• Being able to adaptive and move on
Resiliency (internal factor)
Social Support can be….
Being with people that care about you
Emotional SupportTalking with others about life stressors
Spending time with others just doing shared activities
Being around people that lift you
up or make you feel good about yourself
One’s spouse is often the most
important person in the social support
network
Resiliencyan ability to recover from or adjust easily to adversity or changeMerriam-Webster dictionary online
Why do we need resiliency?
Resiliency helps us
Cope with stressors
Handle change appropriately
Overcome challenging situations
Be less likely to focus on feeling victimized (idea of victim vs survivor)
Be realistic with expectations for self and others
Manage emotions so as not to become overwhelmed
It’s more than just being optimistic
How do we
develop
resiliency?
• Some people are more flexible, less easily stressed, etc.… just by nature
Personality
• How we look at situations
Perceptions
• Making decisions that positively effect us
Choices
• Do what worked and make different choices next time if something did not work well
Learn from your past
• Learn and practice skills such as problem-solving and communication
Skills
From
PreventDisease.com
October 11, 2013
The
Personality
Trait of
Resiliency
How do we
teach resiliency
to others and
improve our
own resiliency?
Communication skills
Problem-solving skills
Decision-making skills
Self-care
Developing/practicing a positive outlook on life
Looking at the big picture of a situation…not just our current stressor
Meditation, journaling, or other positive coping skills for stress
Resiliency is improved with….
From Forbes
online:
Resilience
August 31, 2105
One of the best
things we, as
clinicians, can
do for
ourselves
SELF-CARE
Self-Care improves resiliency and helps decrease the chances of burn-out
Burn-out is a frequent problem for clinicians, especially when the
clients and caseload are demanding, and we do not take care of
ourselves
Self-careyou know…that thing we
teach our clients and suggest our coworkers do
Eat healthy
Exercise
Get enough sleep
PLUS….
Do something you enjoy
Spend time with others
Read a book for fun
See a movie or binge Netflix
Take time away from the office
Go on vacation…yes…vacation
Questions? Comments?
If you would like a copy of this
presentation you can find it at:
www.luzioassociates.com
Under the Resource tab
www.familycenteredlife.com
Under the Digital Media tab