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Original Articles

Reconsidering Vicarious Trauma

A Review of the Literature and Its' Limitations

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Pages 1-21 | Received 01 Dec 2003, Accepted 28 Apr 2004, Published online: 16 Oct 2008
 

Abstract

The concept of vicarious trauma proposes to account for a unique collection of negative experiences among therapists providing therapy to survivors of trauma. Although the intuitive appeal of the construct has prompted several attempts at assessing and understanding the experience of vicarious trauma, research in this area to date has been plagued by a lack of baseline data, disparate results, and methodological limitations. Following a review of the extant research in this area, the authors conclude that efforts to substantiate the notion that mental health professionals working with traumatized clients are significantly and adversely affected by their clinical work has been largely unsuccessful. Furthermore, support for the construct of vicarious trauma as a pervasive experience that is unique to trauma professionals has been inconsistent.A re-evaluation of the construct is encouraged.

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