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Work Related Secondary Traumatic Stress
Presented by: Paul Robins, Ph.D.
Definition:
- Work related secondary traumatic stress is the process of change that health care providers experience, caused by exposure to another person's trauma (our patients), by virtue of our role as helpers. This involves the transformation of the helper's inner experience as the result of empathetic engagement with others.
- Work related secondary traumatic stress is an occupational hazard.
- Work related secondary traumatic stress is determined by the interaction of the situation or repeated situations and the individual.
Recognition:
- WRSTS induces trait-like changes to our values, beliefs, and behaviors.
- WRSTS affects our lives in various ways, among them include our interpersonal relationships, our social networks, and our work. It produces internalized personal changes in our external responses and behavior. These changes are cumulative, pervasive, and likely permanent.
- WRSTS may have many contributing factors concerning both the individual and the situation.
General:
- One can recognize a lack of energy and time for oneself.
- There may be a disconnection from loved-ones.
- One may experience social withdrawal, a sense of cynicism, increased sensitivity to violence, nightmares and poorer sleep, and a generalized sense of despair.
Specific:
- Disrupted frame of reference
- Changes in ones world view, self-identity, spirituality
- Diminished self capacity
- Impaired ego resources
- Disrupted psychological needs and altered sensory experiences (intrusive imagery, dissociation, depersonalization)
Self Interventions:
- Address the stress inherent in WRSTS (self-care, nurturing activities, escapes)
- Address the demoralization and loss of hope created by WRSTS (create meaning, challenge negative beliefs, participation)
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Transform WRSTS by:
- Awareness: recognize and accept WRSTS as an expected occurrence
- Balance: maintain evenness in activities of work, recreation, and rest
- Connection: to oneself, to others, to community, and self-renewal activities
Believe in the resilience of the human spirit.
Summarized by F. DiMario
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