Traumatology, Vol 29(1), Mar 2023, 27-35; doi:10.1037/trm0000378
Working therapeutically with trauma survivors carries a risk of vicarious traumatization (VT) for the therapist, as well as the potential for vicarious posttraumatic growth (VPTG). Despite a growing interest in this area, the factors that therapists feel that conduce to the development of both VT and VPTG have remained relatively unexplored. In this study, we focused mainly on the differences and similarities between the experience of VT and VPTG in therapists who work with trauma survivors in private offices and nonprofit organizations. In total, 14 therapists, 7 private therapists, and 7 therapists who worked in nonprofit organizations with trauma survivors participated in semistructured interviews that were later analyzed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Analysis of the data demonstrated that only therapists who worked in private offices experienced VT (e.g., suspicion, intrusive images, and dissociation). Both groups experienced VPTG; nonprofit therapists reported an increased sense of their humanity and a positive point of view in their lives. Independent practice therapists experienced positive changes in their personalities and tighter family bonds. Teams used the same protective strategies; in addition, nonprofit therapists reported that sharing their feelings and struggles with colleagues immediately after the trauma session was a strong protective factor. The study concludes that the solid existence of VPTG in nonprofit therapists indicates that the work context and specific coping strategies can prevent VT. In contrast to previous findings, it highlights the possibility that therapists who work with trauma could experience explicitly VPTG, without the prior coexistence of traumatic stress. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)