Clinician optimism is an important factor in achieving treatment outcomes in counselling contexts. Currently, there are no measures of mental health clinician optimism which report substantial psychometric validation. This study sought to assesses the validity and reliability of the Therapeutic Optimism Scale (TOS). 223 mental health clinicians working in a range of clinical settings were administered the TOS and convergent and discriminate validity were established. Test–retest reliability was established over a period of 1 month. The TOS was found to achieve acceptable reliability (Cronbach's α = .68) and yielded consistent scores over a one month period (r = .68, p < .01). Factor analyses revealed a 3-factor solution reflecting (1) General Treatment Outcome Expectancy, (2) Personal Treatment Outcome Expectancy, and (3) Pessimism. These findings support the utility of the TOS for research purposes, but further revision is recommended to enhance the reliability of the scale.

Post‐traumatic stress through indirect exposure to trauma can mimic the psychological experiences of direct victims. This is referred to as vicarious traumatization, an impairing condition that largely goes undetected in the general population. This study sought to describe this condition and predict those who may be at risk of developing this type of post‐traumatic stress. One hundred and fifteen participants from south‐east New South Wales (NSW) in Australia who had not experienced any direct exposure, loss or injury from the 2001–2002 NSW bushfires were interviewed using the Vicarious Traumatization Questionnaire, Impact of Events Scale and Coping Strategies Indicator. Results indicated that specific peri‐event, post‐event and pre‐event characteristics were able to predict at least 75 per cent of those who experienced vicarious traumatization resulting from the 2001–2002 NSW bushfires. This study was able to identify and describe vicarious traumatization in a sample of the general population. The importance of these results and the issues for further research are discussed. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.