WHETHER SHAPING PUBLIC POLICY or providing services to individuals, families, and communities, social workers are fully engaged with today's social problems. This difficult work can take an emotional and psychological toll on the worker (Davies, 1998;Gibson, McGrath, & Reid, 1989). This stress comes not only from responding to people in pain and crisis; characteristics of the organization also contribute to the stress (Sze & Ivker, 1986). This occupational stress has been examined primarily in terms of burnout (Maslach, 1993), but recent research in the field of trauma has identified stresses unique to that work. These stresses have been conceptualized as vicarious trauma (McCann & Pearlman, 1990b;Pearlman & Saakvitne, 1995a, 1995b. To date, most research has focused on the individual characteristics thought to contribute to vicarious trauma. There has been less focus on the organizational structures that may contribute. In this article, we draw on the research on organizational correlates of burnout as a background for examining the research on vicarious trauma and then outline various organizational strategies suggested by practitioners working with trauma survivors to prevent vicarious trauma. This discussion is informed by a qualitative study of counselors working with victims of domestic violence (Bell, 1998(Bell, , 1999 that suggested the importance of the work environment, among other issues, in the development of vicarious trauma. Quotations by counselors from that study will be used to illustrate the discussion. Organizational Correlates of BurnoutMaslach (1993) described burnout as having three dimensions: (a) emotional exhaustion; (b) depersonalization, defined as a negative attitude towards clients, a personal detachment, or loss of ideals; and (c) reduced personal accomplishment and commitment to the profession. Burnout has been conceptualized as a process rather than a condition or state, and some have theorized that it progresses sequentially through each of these dimensions (Maslach, 1993). Maslach and others have examined the individual, interpersonal, and organizational characteristics that contribute to burnout. Of particular interest to this discussion is the finding that organizations can either promote job satisfaction or

Research on workplace wellness often neglects the role of organizational factors in preventing negative effects and promoting positive outcomes for service providers. Using a person-environment fit model, which highlights compatibility between an individual worker's characteristics and his or her work environment, we examine key risk and protective factors that might contribute to the well-being of domestic violence services providers. Service providers working in domestic violence agencies completed a Web-based survey measuring their perceptions of organizational factors (e.g., workload, control, reward, community, fairness, organizational values) and outcome variables of provider burnout, secondary traumatic stress, and compassion satisfaction. Individualorganizational mismatch emerges as a significant risk factor for burnout and secondary traumatic stress, both of which are negative outcomes associated with less manageable workloads. Secondary traumatic stress is also associated with providers' feelings of having little control over their work and spending more time in leisure, which might be in response to symptoms. Compassion satisfaction is positively associated with higher levels of work experience in domestic violence services and with providers who share the values of their organization. Organizational interventions that protect workers and promote these distinct dimensions of worker wellness can yield vital benefits associated with a healthy workforce.

The strengths perspective has been a unique contribution by the field of social work to the understanding of the helper-client relationship. This article explores the utility of the strengths perspective as a conceptual framework for research in a qualitative study of secondary trauma with counselors of battered women. An emphasis on strengths allowed the researcher to identify strategies and resources that prevented symptoms of secondary trauma in the majority of counselors. These strengths include a sense of competence about their coping, maintaining an objective motivation for their work, resolving their own personal traumas, drawing on early positive role models of coping, and having buffering personal beliefs. Implications for social work practice, education, and research are discussed.

The first aim of this paper is to present a theory of development of the dialogical self in which change originates in creative innovations during intrapersonal and interpersonal dialogues that highlight the self (Fogel, 1993, 2001b). Dialogues form into regularly recurring routines, called frames, that are either creative (changing, developing) or rigid (unchanging). Second, we argue that there is a non-verbal form of the dialogical self that first appears in early infancy. Finally, we show how the dialogical self develops systematically over the first 18 months of life by presenting a case study of some creative and rigid frames of one infant girl and her mother.

Survivor voice is essential to effectively implement survivor-focused IPV (intimate partner violence) services. In this focus group study, domestic violence survivors (n = 30) shared detailed perspectives as service seekers and recipients, whereas national hotline advocates (n = 24) explored relationships between service providers and survivors based on their interactions with both. Four thematic categories related to enhancing IPV services emerged: providing empathy, supporting empowerment, individualizing care, and maintaining ethical boundaries. Advocates identified additional factors that interfered with quality services, including the following: inadequate organizational resources, staff burnout, lack of training, and poor integration with other community resources. Respectful, empowering relationships are the centerpiece for quality IPV services.