This course explores the impact on staff who support others with psychological trauma or are regularly exposed to potentially distressing information at work. Participants learn to recognise the negative effects of vicarious trauma and develop strategies to protect their wellbeing, enabling them to continue working effectively in their roles.
Why training in Vicarious Trauma is so important
People who are exposed to potentially distressing information on an ongoing basis, whilst engaging with others, may become overwhelmed and be at risk of the negative impact of vicarious trauma.*
Although they are not experiencing the trauma first hand, they are involved directly or indirectly in supporting someone in distress, and through these experiences, they can develop a range of symptoms, such as anger, irritability, fear, panic attacks, pessimism, cynicism, inability to sleep or concentrate and feelings of detachment and numbing. They can become overly involved with the person they are supporting and their outlook on the world around them may become very negative, resulting in feelings of hopelessness.
It is essential that anyone who is supporting others knows how to recognise the signs of vicarious trauma and understand what steps they can take to build resilience and strengthen boundaries to protect their wellbeing.
Key benefits of attending this course
Participants will learn:
- To recognise the signs and impact of vicarious trauma, stress and burnout in yourself and others
- Self-care strategies – to improve physical and mental wellbeing
- The importance of boundaries
- Resilience skills to protect wellbeing
- How to develop a network of support and coping strategies
- To develop realistic actions to prevent vicarious trauma and enable them to support others safely
Vicarious Trauma Training: Who Should Attend?
This course provides practical strategies and support for the wellbeing of anyone dealing with the psychological and emotional impact of assisting individuals experiencing trauma or anyone who is at risk of compassion fatigue.
This training isn’t only beneficial to people who are emergency services first responders, it is highly relevant to anyone who deals with distressing content in the course of their work such as social media content moderators, journalists and war correspondents, digital news editors, frontline staff, managers who are supporting staff, healthcare professionals, people who work for the justice system, social/welfare workers, education staff, in addition to supporting staff such as human resources professionals and mental health first aiders.
Vicarious Trauma Course Overview
Throughout the training session, there will be an emphasis on creating a safe and supportive learning environment to enable an open, productive discussion of a sensitive topic.
The course content will include the following, but will be tailored to reflect the supporting roles undertaken by the participants.
- How to recognise Vicarious Trauma in yourself and in others
- The signs & symptoms of Vicarious Trauma
- Dealing with the stress & its impact on wellbeing
- Strategies to cope with Vicarious Trauma and build resilience and boundaries
- Action Planning to improve personal coping resources
*A definition of Vicarious Trauma
"‘Trauma’ comes from the Greek word for wound, ‘Vicarious’ derives from the Latin, meaning taking the place of another. Vicarious trauma is exposure to someone else’s trauma."
(from the Headlines Network/Mind co-authored guide to vicarious trauma for journalists and media professionals)
Recent Delegate Comments from our Understanding Vicarious Trauma course:
“Really nice environment to discuss experiences openly and hopefully adopt some useful techniques going forward.”
“Brilliant! Loved it! The trainer was what made it so good.”
“This was an excellent course. The trainer was informative and created a relaxed atmosphere to discuss stressful situations. Enjoyed the use of break out groups.”
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Find out more
Please get in touch with us if you have any questions.
We are always happy to talk about our courses and help you to work out the best match for your requirements.
WHAT OUR CUSTOMERS SAY
"The quality of the training has been fantastic and our employees are really engaging with the trainer and getting something out of it. Also In Equilibrium makes the whole process very easy to arrange."
"We wanted to provide a course that taught useful and practical coping strategies that our members could put into place straight away. In Equilibrium’s experience showed us that they could provide this, and they tailored the course perfectly."
"In-Equilibrium recently presented Mental Health Awareness to Managers in all of our area offices. The training was really well received and all of the trainers were praised for their in-depth knowledge and understanding."
"The training was very well received by staff who now all intend to implement the session’s practical tips and techniques into their existing roles. A large proportion of the staff rated the facilitator and their delivery as excellent and their only recommendation was for a further and longer session!"
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