What is vicarious trauma?

Vicarious trauma refers to the psychological impact experienced by individuals who are exposed to the traumatic experiences of others, rather than experiencing the trauma themselves. This can occur in professions that involve significant exposure to the suffering of others, such as social work, counseling, and juvenile probation.

The term emphasizes the emotional and psychological toll that can occur from absorbing or witnessing the trauma that others have experienced. For example, a juvenile probation officer may hear about the traumatic background of a youth they are working with, leading to feelings of distress, anxiety, or even changes in worldview about safety and trust. Such exposure can lead to symptoms similar to those experienced by the individuals who have directly undergone trauma, thereby emphasizing the seriousness of this phenomenon in helping professions.

In contrast, trauma experienced directly by an individual, a brief emotional response to a traumatic event, and the inability to process one's own trauma do not capture the essence of vicarious trauma, which is fundamentally about the indirect experience through witnessing or hearing about another's traumatic experience.