When the Lawyer Becomes Traumatized: A Scoping Review

Abstract

Lawyers can be exposed to cases involving traumatic elements of crimes. Such exposure may result in symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and have adverse effects on the lawyers’ capacities to work. A scoping review was conducted to summarize original investigations of work-related PTSD among lawyers in terms of (a) trauma exposure conceptualization and operationalization, (b) symptom severity, (c) prevalence, and (d) risk factors. The scoping review also aimed to highlight potential directions for future studies and clinical implications. Literature searches were conducted in PsycINFO, Embase, Pubmed, MEDLINE, PILOTS, and Google Scholar. Of 341 initial publications, 9 were included. A majority conceptualized the impact of work-related trauma exposure as secondary traumatic stress and operationalized work-related trauma exposure as the number of cases or clients involving traumatic material. Levels of PTSD symptoms reported by lawyers were positively related to levels of work-related trauma exposure.

An Exploration of New Zealand Crown Prosecutors' Experiences of Working with Potentially Traumatic Material and Emotions in the Courtroom

“…The terms vicarious trauma, secondary traumatic stress, burnout and compassion fatigue have been used interchangeably in the literature to describe the impact of bearing witness to someone else's trauma through interacting with PTM. While each term is conceptually distinct, there is often confusion in the application and scope of the terms due to overlap in symptomology and inconsistent use in the literature (Branson, 2019;Ellis & Knight, 2018;Léonard et al, 2020). As a result, concepts, mechanisms and outcomes described by these terms are often conflated, making it difficult to understand the etiological pathway of the occupational risks of working with PTM (Ellis & Knight, 2018).…”

“…In reviewing the literature, few studies were identified that have explored the impact of working with PTM among criminal lawyers. A recent scoping review conducted by Léonard et al (2020) identified only nine original, quantitative investigations of work-related PTSD among lawyers. Likewise, only two qualitative studies were identified that investigated the experiences of criminal lawyers working with PTM (e.g.…”

Principles for secondary traumatic stress-responsive practice: An expert consensus approach.

“…However, the threat of STS extends far beyond behavioral health services to any profession or field of practice that interacts with traumatized populations. Examples include, but are not limited to, child welfare (Bride et al, 2007; Bride & Jones, 2006; Molnar et al, 2020), education (Hatcher et al, 2011; Lawson et al, 2019), nursing (Beck, 2011; Bock et al, 2020), victim services (Bonach & Heckert, 2012; Letson et al, 2020; Starcher & Stolzenberg, 2020), and criminal justice (Jaffe et al, 2009; Léonard et al, 2020).…”

Traumatic stress in Canadian lawyers: A longitudinal study.

“…Nevertheless, a handful of studies have investigated the presence of what is now considered PTSD among small convenience samples of specialized lawyers (APA, 2013). Prior to the DSM–5 , researchers most often employed the concept of secondary traumatic stress to conceptualize and study PTSD symptoms among lawyers (Leonard et al, 2020). A scoping review reported inconsistent findings in the association between trauma-exposure and PTSD-related symptoms, which was in part explained by the heterogeneous criteria used to define the presence of PTSD (Leonard et al, 2020).…”

“…Prior to the DSM-5, researchers most often employed the concept of secondary traumatic stress to conceptualize and study PTSD symptoms among lawyers (Leonard et al, 2020). A scoping review reported inconsistent findings in the association between trauma-exposure and PTSD-related symptoms, which was in part explained by the heterogeneous criteria used to define the presence of PTSD (Leonard et al, 2020). For instance, Levin et al (2011) investigated the presence of "probable PTSD" (i.e., caseness based on a cut-off score of 1.5 on the Impact of Event Scale-Revised [IES-R]; Maslach, 2006) among a sample of public defender lawyers and found that 11% met this criterion.…”