Shared Trauma: When the Professional is Personal

Concepts describing secondary trauma phenomena do not adequately capture the profound impact that collective catastrophic
events can have on mental health professionals living and working in traumatogenic environments. Shared trauma, by contrast,
contains aspects of primary and secondary trauma, and more accurately describes the extraordinary experiences of clinicians
exposed to the same community trauma as their clients. Case vignettes from clinicians in Manhattan and Sderot, Israel are
provided to illustrate the transformative changes that clinicians may undergo as a result of dual exposure to trauma. Discussion
involves the importance of articulating one’s own trauma narrative and attending to self-care prior to resuming clinical work,
as well as opportunities for enhanced therapeutic intimacy and caution regarding boundary alterations that may result from
clinician self-disclosure. Agency settings can provide the necessary education, supervision, and support to mitigate the negative
effects of shared trauma.