Beyond workplace violence: Direct and vicarious trauma among psychiatric hospital workers. A qualitative study.

Abstract

We aimed to explore psychiatric nurses' and other psychiatric workers' understanding of trauma in the context of their relationships with the people they care for and the effects on their mental health. Workplace violence in psychiatric hospitals can lead to mental health problems, including posttraumatic stress disorder. Professional relationships with the people they care for may complicate psychiatric workers' experiences of trauma. We qualitatively analysed responses of 30 psychiatric workers who answered relevant open-ended questions in a survey of workplace violence and posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms. We found that respondents were profoundly affected by violence and vicarious trauma through the current and previous suffering of people in their care. The effects of vicarious exposure and other potentially psychologically traumatic events were often made worse by lack of organizational support. Not only direct exposure to violent events but also indirect exposure, vicarious traumatic stress and perceived lack of organizational support affect staff's well-being. Management should ensure that mental health supports are not limited to workers directly affected by workplace violence but should extend to those who witnessed the event and to those regularly exposed to vicarious trauma.