Victim Advocates: Vicarious Trauma Responders Face

While there is agreement that trauma informed care generally refers to a philosophical stance integrating awareness and understanding of trauma and its ongoing impact on patients’ health and lives, there is not yet consensus on a definition or clarity on how the model can be applied in a variety of settings. The philosophical underpinnings of trauma informed care trace to the feminist movements of the 1970s (Burgess & Holstrom, 1974), and the emergence of child-advocacy centers and awareness and response to child abuse in the 1980s. In combination with the growth of research in combat-related posttraumatic stress after the Vietnam War, the focus then expanded to mental health practice, especially in the context of traumatic events. By the late 1990s and early 2000s, social work and mental health professionals began to articulate organizational frameworks for delivery of trauma informed care, as well as conceptual models based on scientific evidence about how traumatic stress impacts brains and behavior (Bloom, 1997; Harris & Fallot, 2001; Covington, 2002; Rivard, Bloom, & Abramovitz, 2003; Ko, Ford, Kassam-Adams, et al. 2008; Bloom, 2010). In 1998, SAMHSA launched the Women, Co-Occurring Disorders and Violence study, a seminal study in 27 sites over five years that examined trauma-integrated services counseling. Following that, the National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN) began identification and distribution of empirically supported trauma-specific mental health

The second case study consists of post-traumatic stress disorder in the victims of the 2004 tsunami in Sri Lanka. Watters recounts the story of a woman named, Debra Wentz, director of the New Jersey Association of Mental Health Agencies who was visiting Sri Lanka during the tsunami. She experienced the tragedy first-hand and became worried about the psychological implications that such a trauma plays on a person’s mental state. She vigorously worked to get American counselors to come to Sri Lanka to train local counselors on how to recognize the symptoms of PTSD and how to counsel the survivors. Her efforts, Watters states, “were clearly motivated by a set of assumptions and beliefs about the nature of psychological trauma and its appropriate treatments. Wentz assumed, as do many Western mental health specialists who focus on trauma, that the psychological reaction to horrible events is fundamentally the same around the world.” (Watters 68) Psychiatrists and

A fire rose within to burn social economic barriers that imprisoned me from achieving an education. As a member of a low-income household, I continually witnessed my parents struggling to pay for utilities, rent, and groceries. Although we received government assistance, it never seemed to be enough. My father worked long hours at a dairy factory to provide for our family, but his addiction to alcohol took most of his income. My mother depended on government assistance due to her chronic asthma and arthritis. Not being able to rely on my parents for stability, my six older siblings were forced to drop out of high school to become providers of their own.

The study of psychology refers to collective trauma as the effect experienced by many people in the aftermath of a tragedy or event. The pain of collective traumatic disorders is common among soldiers who experienced military combat, but has the potential to affect an entire community. Although, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) can alter relationships with the family and the community, future generations will not have to endure combat directly to experience collective trauma. Many Veterans suffering from PTSD might shy away from others due to stigmas associated with the diagnosis. Some might have difficulty concentrating, or have guilty feelings, cannot find work, feel helpless, fearful, or have a loss of interest in usual activities. All

These men and women risked their lives to try to save the thousands of men, women, and children trapped inside the Murrah building. In assumption people would think this traumatic experience of trying to recover lives after the explosion would not only be very heartbreaking, but very traumatic also. Surprisingly, from all the rescue workers only 13% (24/181) were diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder (North). A test was approved and ran by the Washington University School of Medicine Institutional Review Board (North). This test involved the first group of firefighters who were involved with the bombing victims (North). These firefighters are the ones who helped recover bodies and body parts from the rubble of the bombing (North). “Two-thirds (68%) reported feeling somewhat or very upset by either or both of these activities, although many (36%) described removing the bodies as providing a sense of relief and closure to their evacuation work. Firefighters acknowledged feeling somewhat or very upset by contact with body parts (54%) and body fluids (36%), but encounters with children’s remains (72% of total sample) had the highest rating of associated upset”

They write and compile relief checks, donate blood, volunteer time and give necessary supplies. Sometimes, the only thing others can do is send prayers, hope, and observe. However, we always try to do what we can to help others. Helping those devastated sends a mental message saying, "we haven't forgotten about you." The message impacts those traumatized in a way no other message can. It gives them the physiological strength they need to continue the fight to

War survivors are perceived as brave and thought to be able to face anything. Taking a look at a soldier, someone might notice scars and burn marks on them. But what they can’t see is the internal damage a war might have taken on a soldier, i.e. PTSD. Anybody who’s ever lived with someone who had PTSD experiences a difficult life; avoiding certain interactions, anger/guilt, addiction, alienation, and discourage are feelings and actions that a family must go through. Life is even more difficult for the person who has PTSD; flashbacks, palpitation, nightmares, social anxiety, and hyper

With the increasing violence throughout the world, an increase in healthcare workers has also increased. Providing care to people that have come from war torn areas need their beliefs and values to be respected like any other culture. It should also be considered that these particular groups may need specialized care dealing with trauma. With the increase in the need for providers, traveling healthcare providers need to consider the environments they are entering into and the differences in culture (Andrews & Boyle,

Tim O’Brien gives a lot of examples of how trauma affects people. Of course, in his case he was taking about war, but really, it can be taken as how anybody is affected by traumatic experiences. Child abuse victims, domestic violence victims, sexual abuse victims, people who have lived on the streets, people that overcame starvation, all of these people experience trauma in almost the same way. They get flashbacks, nightmares, feelings from when they were in the bad situation, and they all need support to heal. They can’t be left voiceless for their whole lives or they won’t be able to cope and get their story to those who are stuck in those same situations that they used to be in. They all need people to listen to them, believe in them, trust them, understand where they are coming from, and be there when they need help. Will you be that person to help someone feel good about themselves today? Will you stand up for a person who is being bullied today? Don’t be a hero; just be a voice for the

Emergency rescue personnel witnessed the loss of loved ones, furthermore during recovery and rescue efforts they were limited in the amount of debriefing and clinical mental support they received. Priorities at the time focused on saving lives, while mental deterioration was taking place in many simultaneously. “A study published in the Mount Sinai Journal of Medicine found a 71.8% prevalence of PTSD among exposed first responders as opposed to 51.4% among their unexposed counterparts” (Bills et al., 2008). In a 9-year longitudinal cohort study with data gathered from 27,449 participants, including a population of police officers and firefighters among other rescue workers; the cumulative results yielded a 9.3% incidence of PTSD, 8.4% panic disorder, and 7.0% depression, with the higher rates found among those with direct exposure (Wisnivesky et al., 2011). Besides risk factors that contribute to developing PTSD, underestimating its pathophysiological effects can exacerbate the condition. According to Boscarino and Adams (2009), even though 90% of adults have experienced at least a traumatic event in their life; only a small percentage develop PTSD. This further validates the concept of the influence of underlying risk factors post

In order to determine the specific challenges of disaster mental health (DMH) responders, Hambrick et al conducted an audit. The data was gathered through semi-structured group interviews using open ended questions with nine clinicians at various Community Mental Health Centers (CMHC). All CMHCs had a disaster response team who completed at least six hours of Psychological First Aid (PFA) training. The PFA guide that was consistently reference is a guide used to direct posttraumatic distress caused by a disaster. The interview content consisted of questions about the organization they represented, the needs of the organization, and phone interviews asking about barriers of DMH at the organization they work. The purpose of this experiment

The experience leading to posttraumatic stress doesn’t have to last hours on end. In fact, the entire confrontation could last but a short thirty seconds. For many first responders in life-threatening situations, these few seconds can adversely affect the rest of their life (Willis, 2014). From that day or night on, the one affected will be plagued by sleepless nights, nightmares during the minimal hours of rest, and periodic anxiety attacks (Willis, 2014). In just thirty seconds, a well-trained first responder can go from being emotionally stable with a happy heart and life to having an unstable family, marriage, and have an inability to effectively perform many of his or her job duties. In just thirty seconds, one can develop a case of (undiagnosed) posttraumatic stress disorder (Willis, 2014).

In Judith Herman’s book, Trauma and Recovery, she discusses her research and work with trauma survivors. In her book, she writes that, “traumatic events are extraordinary, not because they occur rarely, but rather because they overwhelm the ordinary human adaptations to life” (Herman 24). She explores the idea that trauma is as individual as it is common, with reactions and the journey to the post-traumatic self similar despite differences in events. In the case of Barbara Gordon, while the event may vary, her physical and mental trauma can be compared to America’s fear of its forfeiture of power to terror and the loss of the towers after September 11, 2001. Trauma is about more than just the physical ramifications; when the physical aspect is fixed, Barbara’s legs and the building of the 1 World Trade Center, the mental and emotional trauma still remain.

In our lecture, there were several wonderful examples of things that every Christian can do to aid victims of crisis. It is amazing how powerful the simplest and most basic things can minister to those who have experienced trauma; things like giving them basic instructions during a time when they can be cognitively unfocused, getting them a drink of water or a blank, allowing them to share their feelings and experience, praying for them, etc. I believe one of the most powerful things every Christian can do is to simply be “present” with the victims of crisis. Having experienced several traumatic events myself, the simple action of a Believer simply being with me brought an incredible amount of comfort and strength to me. I could sense the

The dilemma that first responder experience is the believe that only the weak will seek help for the things they endure during job. Changing that perspective that seek help due to an exposure to a traumatic incident starts from the top down. Most first responder units are now mandating that the men and women involve in any traumatic incident are required to attend a Critical Incident Stress Debriefing (CISD) within 24 to 72 hours after initial contact with the traumatic event. Making CISD mandatory will reduce the chance of emergency service workers, rescue workers, police and fire personnel from experiencing PTSD or ASD. The earlier the intervention the better the chances of the first responder dealing with the traumatic incident.