Shared Trauma

Abstract

Trauma is often thought of as a descriptor for a therapy client who has experienced a distressing event that has overwhelmed their ability to cope. However, social workers are not immune from experiencing forms of trauma based on their professional experience. Terms such as vicarious traumatization, compassion fatigue, burnout, countertransference, and secondary trauma describe the impact of clients’ traumatic material on clinicians. This chapter will describe those terms, and contrast them with shared trauma which can occur when clinicians and clients are exposed to the same collective trauma. These clinicians are exposed to collective trauma—war, terrorism, natural disasters, pandemics—both through their own personal experiences, as well as through their professional work with clients. Most recently, the COVID-19 global pandemic has impacted clients and clinicians alike, and only the term shared trauma, and relatedly shared traumatic reality, address the dual exposure and effect of the collective traumatic event on social workers. Using a common case example, shared trauma will be contrasted with the secondary trauma constructs. The chapter will also address the positive aspects of dual exposure and interaction with clients, notably post-traumatic growth and shared resilience. Keywords: Traumatic Countertransference, Enactment, Secondary Trauma, Vicarious Traumatization, Compassion Fatigue, Burnout, Shared Trauma, Shared Traumatic Reality, Shared Resilience, Post-Traumatic Growth