Shared Trauma: The Therapist's Increased Vulnerability

Abstract

When both therapist and client share a traumatic event, there are multiple levels of vulnerability to traumatization for the therapist. Our personal vulnerability is not only a backdrop for our clinical work but also an acknowledged fact in many therapeutic relationships, a situation that changes the frame of the work. In addition to clinical challenges, shared trauma increases a therapist's vulnerability to vicarious traumatization; VT is defined as the negative transformation of the therapist's inner experience as a result of his or her empathic engagement with and responsibility for a traumatized client. Emphasizing the importance of awareness, self-care, meaning, and community, the article summarizes important steps to anticipate, address, and transform the therapist's experience of vicarious traumatization.