Secondary trauma among trauma researchers: Lessons from the field.

Abstract

Objective: There is a substantial body of research that indicates that professionals treating traumatized clients or patients may suffer from burnout, compassion fatigue, vicarious trauma, or secondary traumatic stress and that those who are most empathic are most vulnerable. However, there is limited research on the effects of participant trauma on trauma researchers. This is the focus of the current study. Method: Drawing on case illustrations from a large trauma-related study, we demonstrate the effects of participant trauma on trauma interviewers. Results: The experiences of fieldworkers in this study often mirror the syndromes found among "flooded" therapists, suggesting that it is the listening, and not so much the purpose for which one is listening, that can result in trauma-by-proxy. Conclusion: Recommendations: Ethics applications should include a provision for the proper care for trauma researchers, who may, without support, develop symptoms of secondary traumatic stress. Training and regular supervision should become a mandatory part of trauma research practice, and if trauma levels are high, the principal researcher may need to invite a trauma counselor to do debriefing. In contexts where trauma levels are as high as in South Africa, fieldworkers are entitled to debriefing by an appropriately trained professional. Clinical Impact StatementThere is a relatively small body of research focusing on the effects of hearing trauma narratives on research interviewers. Yet these interviewers, like trauma therapists, may be affected in significant, detrimental ways by the traumas they hear. These effects may include vicarious trauma and secondary traumatic stress. The clinical relevance of these observations underlines the importance of having adequate psychological support available to trauma interviewers, including both regular supervision and counseling.

A path forward for qualitative research on sustainability in the COVID-19 pandemic

“…Despite training to maintain scientific rigor by establishing professional boundaries and suppressing emotional reactions (Lalor et al 2006 ), there is a growing literature on secondary trauma among social scientists. For example, many ethnographers work with marginalized or trauma-exposed individuals, leading to emotionally laden participant interactions (Whitt-Woosley and Sprang 2018 ; van der Merwe and Hunt 2019 ). Additionally, the iterative process of qualitative work—listening to, recording, and writing about participants’ personal accounts of traumatic experiences—repeatedly exposes researchers to emotionally distressing content and may result in emotional transference, feelings of guilt, and frustration (Gregory et al 1997 ).…”

“…Since the start of the pandemic, there has been growing interest in studying its social impacts as scientists recognize intersections across fields, from public health to sustainability (Heymann and Shindo 2020;Van Bavel et al 2020). For example, the pandemic amplifies existing environmental health and justice issues (Ferrante and Fearnside 2020;Wu et al 2020;Yancy 2020;Laurencin and McClinton 2020) and may complicate transitions to low-carbon energy production such as the recent rollback of pollution regulations in the United States (Friedman 2020).…”

The Challenges of Conducting Qualitative Research on “couples” in Abusive Intimate Partner Relationships Involving Substance Use

“…It was therefore sometimes difficult not to be drawn into their relationships and to feel affected by their struggles, and the violence and abuse they had experienced. Other researchers have discussed vicarious trauma after listening to participants' traumatic and unsettling accounts (Love et al, 2019;Sammut Scerri et al, 2012;Van der Merwe & Hunt, 2019). In this study, researchers were offered regular (group and individual) clinical supervision by a clinical psychologist to process the emotions they experienced from hearing these stories.…”

CORE: Compassion Oriented Reflection and Engagement to Guide Academic-Community Partnership

“…Champions is a non-profit organization working to build the capacity of children and families. It employs a block-by-block model to support local neighborhoods with high rates of poverty and violent crime (The Metropolitan Center, 2016). Families there predominantly identify as Black/African American, and local history documents a long narrative of disenfranchisement and injustice.…”

“…At the same time, our presence on site during frequent lockdowns related to nearby gun violence made a gradual but significant impact on both our understanding of our partners’ lived experience, and our own mental health. Since the effects of vicarious and indirect trauma on investigators remains relatively unstudied ( van der Merwe & Hunt, 2019 ), we turned to training, supervision, and workforce management research for insight.…”