What is vicarious trauma?

Vicarious trauma occurs when a person is exposed to, and empathetically engages with, the traumatic experiences of someone else¹. A person may experience vicarious trauma after witnessing a traumatic event directly or by being exposed to details of trauma. 

The consequences of vicarious trauma are predictable and are known to accumulate over multiple exposures. Vicarious trauma is known to have both physiological and psychological effects, and to impact on the way a person relates to themself, others and the world around them². Individuals who are not direct victims of trauma can still experience a response that is just as severe as someone that experienced the trauma first-hand. 

Different terms have emerged over the years to describe the impacts of vicarious trauma. These include compassion fatigue, vicarious traumatisation and secondary traumatic stress.

“Vicarious trauma is a predictable response to engaging with trauma material.”

- Institute for Safety, Compensation and Recovery Research³

Potential negative impacts of vicarious trauma

  • Secondary traumatic stress is a reaction to vicarious trauma which results in symptoms that align with those of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) yet may not meet the full criteria for a PSTD diagnosis⁴. These include:

    • Impacted Mood - anxiety, depression, irritability, aggressive outbursts, difficulty managing emotions

    • Intrusive thoughts or nightmares about traumatic events

    • Difficulty concentrating or making decisions

    • Emotional numbing or detachment from others

    • Hypervigilance or constant worry about safety

    Vicarious traumatisation refers to the impact vicarious trauma is known to have on individual’s beliefs and world view. This can include:

    • The loss of a sense of meaning in life

    • Feeling hopeless about the future

    • Feeling that the world is unsafe

    These reactions can lead to:

    • Relationship problems

    • Destructive coping or addictive behaviours

    • Trauma & stress related disorders - such as PTSD

    • Mood & anxiety disorders

    • Fatigue, insomnia, or sleep disturbances

    • Chronic pain or headaches

    • Decreased resistance to illness

    • Digestive problems or gastrointestinal issues

    • Respiratory problems or difficulty breathing

    • High blood pressure or heart problems

    • Poor Staff Retention
      High staff turnover rates in organisations are a costly and disruptive consequence of unmanaged vicarious trauma⁵’⁸. When skilled workers leave, it is common for institutional knowledge and interagency networks and relationships to deteriorate.

    • Quality of Services
      Employees experiencing vicarious trauma may struggle to provide quality services to trauma-survivors or collaborate effectively with other services. This can result in distress to the client, poor case outcomes, negative feedback from other services & reputational damage.

    • Poor Organisational Culture
      Vicarious trauma can have a detrimental impact on workplace culture. The impacts to individual workers such as low morale, impacted mood and concentration, are compounded when a team is collectively impacted by vicarious trauma. This can lead to poor communication, increased conflict and reduced productivity⁸.

      Vicarious trauma can also contribute to a culture of distrust and cynicism, making it difficult for employees to effectively collaborate.

    • Legal and Ethical Risks
      Employees who are experiencing vicarious trauma may not be able to provide a professional standard of care to clients.

    • Financial Costs
      VT is costly to organisations who must invest in increased recruitment, sick leave and costs related to workers compensation.

      Organisations may also be liable for damages related to negligence, when failure to engage in risk management leads to a worker experiencing psychological injury.

Exposure to trauma, direct or indirect, is considered hazardous when the exposure is severe, prolonged or frequent⁶.

Under Australian work health and safety regulations, employers are required to manage hazards such as trauma exposure as part of their duty to provide a safe work environment.

Developed by CPSU Victoria as part of the Vicarious Trauma Prevention & Awareness Toolkit⁷

Common examples of trauma-exposure in the workplace

  • Working directly with victim-survivors of trauma in a helping or first-responder profession

  • Reading about traumatic experiences in police reports, case files or medical summaries

  • Listening to accounts of traumatic events told by a victim-survivor or a third party

  • Assisting in the administration of documents that include traumatic material

  • Preparing reports related to traumatic events

  • Reviewing audio-visual materials as part of an investigation

  • Assessing the health, eligibility or needs of a victim-survivor

    1. Cohen, K., & Collens, P. (2013). The impact of trauma work on trauma workers: A metasynthesis on vicarious trauma and vicarious posttraumatic growth. Psychological Trauma, 5(6), 570–580. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0030388 Hallinan, 2018.

    2. Office for Victims of Crime. (2023). What is vicarious trauma? The Vicarious Trauma Toolkit. https://ovc.ojp.gov/program/vtt/what-is-vicarious-trauma

    3. Institute for Safety, Compensation and Recovery Research. (2019). Vicarious trauma. https://www.iscrr.com.au/impact/vicarious-trauma/

    4. Sprang, G., Ford, J., Kerig, P., & Bride, B. (2019). Defining secondary traumatic stress and developing targeted assessments and interventions: Lessons learned from research and leading experts. Traumatology, 25(2), 72–81. https://doi.org/10.1037/trm0000180

    5. Office for Victims of Crime (US). (n.d). Guidelines for a trauma-informed organisation: Making the business case. https://ovc.ojp.gov/sites/g/files/xyckuh226/files/media/document/imp_making_the_business_case-508.pdf

    6. Safe Work Australia. (2023). Topic: Traumatic events or materials. https://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/safety-topic/managing-health-and-safety/mental-health/psychosocial-hazards/traumatic-events-or-materials

    7. The Community and Public Sector Union (Victorian Branch). (2023). Vicarious trauma prevention & awareness toolkit (VPAT). http://vtpat.org.au/

    8. Work Safe Victoria. (2023). The effects of work-related stress. https://www.worksafe.vic.gov.au/pdf/effects-work-related-stress

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Developed by Amy Nicholas (2023) with design support from KirstyMoegerlein.com

Disclaimer: This website is intended as a general information resource only, recommendations provided here should not be substituted for appropriate risk management processes or legal advice. All organisations and individuals should consider and implement changes that are appropriate to their circumstances.