Exploring Shared Trauma in the Time of COVID: A Simulation-Based Survey Study of Mental Health Clinicians.

Abstract

From fear of contracting the virus, isolation from physical distancing, to navigating lifeworkbalance, the COVID-19 pandemic is expected to leave long-lasting psychosocialimpacts on many. Shared trauma refers to similar psychological reactions to anextraordinary community event when experienced by both the clinicians and clients.We examined the experiences mong mental health clinicians in Canada and the UnitedStates (n = 196) in this online survey study during the second phase of thepandemic (Spring 2021). In addition to using traditional survey items (e.g.,demographics, scales, and short answers), we also used video-recorded SimulatedClients (SC; i.e., professional actors) as a novel method to elicit the participants'assessment of the SCs and the psychosocial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.Using shared trauma as a theoretical framework, we analyzed both quantitative andqualitative data. Quantitative results suggested that although these mental healthclinicians certainly reported experiencing psychosocial impacts of the pandemicthemselves, these shared experiences with client and general populations did notgreatly impact how they understood the SCs. Qualitative results helped furthercontextualize the clinicians' own personal and professional lives. Implications forclinical practice and further research related to shared trauma are discussed.