Vicarious Trauma, Subthreshold PTSD, and Resilience in Professional Counselors Working with Traumatized Populations
Abstract
Description
As counselors empathically listen to their clients’ traumatic experiences on a regular
basis, there is a potential for counselors to be negatively impacted and become impaired
(Abassary & Goodrich, 2014). Without effective protective factors in place, counselors are at
risk of experiencing vicarious trauma and subthreshold PTSD from exposure to clients’ traumatic
events (Nelson, 2016). The purpose of this study was to develop an understanding of the
vicarious trauma and subthreshold PTSD symptoms experienced by professional counselors and
the factors related to resiliency that protect counselors from developing these symptoms, such as
years of professional counseling experience, the amount of one’s trauma caseload, and a personal
experience of trauma. Participants for this study were a national sample of 211 professional
counselors recruited through various counseling list-serves. This research study established an
understanding of the frequency of vicarious trauma symptoms and subthreshold PTSD symptoms
experienced by professional counselors and the relationship between these symptoms and
resilience. Furthermore, this study determined that years of professional experience decreased
arousal symptoms of vicarious trauma and increased level of resilience in professional
counselors, and that having a history of personal trauma increases one’s arousal vicarious trauma
symptoms. Implications for professional counselors and counselor educators to mitigate and
lessen the symptoms of vicarious trauma and subthreshold PTSD and maximize resiliency in
professional counselors are discussed.
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Keywords
trauma, vicarious trauma, professional experience, caseload, symptoms
Citation
Flint, S. (2019). Vicarious Trauma, Subthreshold PTSD, and Resilience in Professional Counselors Working with Traumatized Populations.