Vicarious Trauma Institute's Blog
"Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Vicarious Trauma:
When Helping the Traumatized Leads to Second-Hand Shock™" 
November 07, 2009: In light of all of the comments and news stories regarding the tragedy at Fort Hood, we thought that it may be useful to make the distinction between PTSD and VT.
Post-traumatic stress (PTSD) and Vicarious Trauma (VT) have a lot in common when it comes to their symptoms. Both PTSD and VT can lead to emotional, cognitive, physical and spiritual problems including, but not limited to: a sudden flood of emotions, depression, memory lapse, hyperarousal, chronic pain, anxiety, fearfulness, hostility, social withdrawal, obsessions with death, gastroenteritis problems, argumentativeness, cancer, acts of desperation, attention deficit, panic attacks, etc.
Post-traumatic stress occurs when a person experiences an event or events considered to be outside of the range of normal human experience. Many of these “beyond-normal” events are the violent experiences that our military personnel have endured and witnessed as in Iraq and Afghanistan. These men and women are suffering from primary trauma.
The professionals who help these soldiers, such as Major Hasan at Fort Hood, are at risk of contracting VT, or as we call it, Second-Hand Shock™. Vicarious Trauma is a form of trauma that takes hold when a helping professional is utilizing controlled empathy while listening to stories with traumatic content. This combination is very taxing on the entire body, starting in the brain where fight-or-flight chemicals are released. This chemical release starts a chain of bio-chemical events that ratchets up the body’s stress response. Professional helpers may experience this rise and fall of the body’s stress response many times in the course of one work day, and these chemical repetitions take their toll in a result that looks very much like PTSD.
When helpers work with trauma and disaster victims, they must be aware of the three major risk factors for VT:
- Exposure to the stories or images of multiple trauma victims
- The helpers’ controlled empathic sensitivity to their suffering
- Any unresolved emotional issues that relate symbolically to the suffering seen or heard
Society needs to understand that the symptoms of Vicarious Trauma should be taken seriously. The mental health professionals, lawyers, teachers, judges, and others in helping professions should become more informed about Vicarious Trauma, its symptoms and treatments. They should speak with professionals who are trained to work with people suffering from VT. These helpers deserve attention and compassion in relation to this potentially dangerous illness.
About the Authors
Vicki Carpel Miller, BSN, MS, LMFT
Vicki is co-founder and a core trainer with the Vicarious Trauma Institute, utilizing the Rapid Advance Process® for treatment of Vicarious Trauma. She is co-author of Day After Day the Price You Pay: Managing Your Second Hand Shock and The Second-Hand Shock™ Workbook.
She is an internationally recognized presenter and trainer in the field of Collaborative Practice, training family lawyers, licensed mental health and financial professionals world-wide in the Collaborative Divorce Full Interdisciplinary Team Model of Collaborative Practice with Collaborative Divorce Team Trainings.
Vicki is co-founder of the Collaborative Divorce Professionals of Arizona and functions as a divorce coach, child specialist and/or case manager in Collaborative Divorce files. She is a member of the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals (IACP), the American Counseling Association (ACA), a Clinical Member of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapists (AAMFT), the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts (AFCC), and an Advanced Practitioner Member of the Association for Conflict Resolution. Vicki has received advanced training in family mediation, narrative mediation, interest-based negotiation, Collaborative Law and Collaborative Divorce Interdisciplinary Team Practice.
To reach Vicki, please email vcarpelmiller@vicarioustrauma.com.
Ellie Izzo, PhD, LPC
Dr. Ellie Izzo is a Licensed Professional Counselor and has been in clinical practice since 1982. Ellie is co-founder and a core trainer with the Vicarious Trauma Institute. She developed the Rapid Advance Process™, which was the subject of her doctoral dissertation. She is the author of The Bridge to I Am: Rapid Advance Psychotherapy©2007 and co-author of Day After Day the Price You Pay: Managing Your Second Hand Shock and The Second-Hand Shock™ Workbook.
Ellie conducts all phases of psychotherapy. She also serves as a Divorce Coach, Child Specialist and/or Team Manager in the process of Collaborative Divorce, whereby a team of professionals help a couple move through divorce respectfully, without litigating.
Ellie is a member of the American Psychological Association, the American Counseling Association, the American Mental Health Counselors Association, International Academy of Collaborative Professionals and Collaborative Divorce Professionals of Arizona. She is married with children and grandchildren. Her office is located in Scottsdale, Arizona.
To reach Ellie, please email ellieizzo@vicarioustrauma.com.