Supervising counsellors who work with survivors of childhood sexual abuse

Abstract

This paper draws attention to issues for supervisors who support counsellors working with adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse from the perspective of trauma theory. The author describes the effects of vicarious traumatization and the unconscious dynamics that contribute to this experience. A narrative approach is included as another way of supervisors listening to distressing stories, both those of clients and of their counsellors, and re ects on the value of bearing witness to those stories in supervision and of recognizing them as a source of healing.

My eyes got a bit watery there: using stories to explore emotions in coaching research and practice for injured, sick and wounded military personnel

“…' 'Man up,' however, is what Nelson (2001) might describe as a 'narrative fragment' chiselled from the weightier hegemonic masculine story of how an individual should act when confronted with trauma, emotional distress or vulnerability. But this way of coping is not working for many soldiers, coaches, women or men (Etherington, 2000). Against this backdrop, the types of evidence we suggest is important to bring to light are the micro-relational components of relationship building where one small act (a word or gesture) follows another in what at first glance might appear a trivial series of behaviours.…”

“…caring, and open to others is the risk of being unable to make things right, unable to answer moral questions, and even to potentially experience vicarious traumatisation (Etherington, 2000).…”

Integrating a Trauma-Informed Care Perspective in Baccalaureate Social Work Education: Guiding Principles

“…Students with trauma histories who are exposed to trauma-related content, whether in the classroom or during field placement, have the potential to experience vicarious trauma, or to be re-traumatized by material that reflects past experiences (Carello & Butler 2014Didham, Dromgole, Csiernik, Karley, & Hurley, 2011;Knight, 2010). This can be highly disruptive to student learning (Miller, 2001), as those who lack awareness of the severity of their past trauma can draw upon intense, maladaptive patterns of coping when exposed to course content that triggers prior traumas (Etherington, 2000). In response to this issue, recommendations have been offered on how to make the classroom environment a safe place for graduate students by presenting content that aids in the reduction of secondary traumatic stress (O'Halloran & O'Halloran, 2001;Shannon, Simmelink, Im, Becher, & Crook-Lyon, 2014) and vicarious trauma (Dane, 2002).…”

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“…For example, Etherington (2000) recommended the use of a narrative approach when supervising counselors who work with childhood sexual abuse victims. She noted that counselors often struggle to express their feelings about, reactions to, and plans with these clients.…”