Countertransference and positive growth in social workers

Vicarious posttraumatic growth: A systematic literature review

“…Among nurses and physicians, professional self-esteem, defined as the extent to which professionals perceived themselves to be professionally competent and valuable (Carmel, 1997), was positively associated with VPTG (Taubman-Ben- Ari & Weintroub, 2008). In addition, compassion satisfaction, defined as a sense of pleasure or satisfaction gained from one's job (Stamm, 2005), and self-perceived value of one's work were positively associated with VPTG among social workers (Gibbons, Murphy, & Joseph, 2011). However, this was not the case among professionals working with war and torture survivors, despite similar levels of compassion satisfaction being recorded (Kjellenberg, Nilsson, Daukantaité, & Cardeña, 2014).…”

“…Several studies also reported finding no association between VPTG and secondary traumatic stress (Gibbons et al, 2011;Taubman-BenAri & Weintroub, 2008), while a third suggested a more complex alternative (Shiri et al, 2008a). Shiri et al (2008a) reported that the relationship between VPTG and secondary traumatic stress was best explained as curvilinear.…”

Cognitive dissonance in social work - the experiences of social workers who facilitate transracial adoption plans for aboriginal children

“…For example, one participant described how she had reconnected with her First Nations culture as a way of managing her work. This finding is consistent with the previously-described literature on workplace stress that shows that social workers can be positively impacted by stress, for example experiencing post-traumatic growth (Gibbons et al, 2011). I believe that this finding speaks to the resilience of the human spirit and the ability of people to find ways to grow and change when needed.…”

“…For example, burnout can result from social workers having unrealistic expectations surrounding their jobs, such as believing that they will be a positive influence in the lives of the majority of their clients, that they will consistently be appreciated for the work they do, that they will be able to challenge bureaucracies and be responsive to their clients ' needs, and that they will have opportunities for career advancement and increased status (Gibbons et al , 2011 ;Graham & Shier, 2014). Conflict between family and work can also be a source of stress, with family-related issues impacting levels of stress at work and work-related issues affecting levels of stress at home (Kalliath et al , 2012).…”

“…Social workers can experience post-traumatic growth from their work, which can arguably be passed along to other social workers vicariously (Gibbons et al, 2011). When we think about stress and social work, our first instinct is to consider the negative impacts of this profession; however, especially when placed within the context of the research on social work and job satisfaction, it does make sense that social workers are experiencing personal growth not only in spite of, but perhaps in part due to, the experiences they face in the field.…”