drkkolmes (they/them)Dec 28, 2022
@gramjoeldavies For me, the #burnout became much more of an issue when I started sharing the #chronic #trauma my clients were experiencing. Somewhere, oh, about 2016…the sense of collective trauma was growing. I used to treat people for issues that weren’t directly causing me distress even though I experience #sexism #homophobia and #transphobia It has felt qualitatively different since the Trump years.
Show threadGramDec 29, 2022

@drkkolmes Oppression is one of the worst traumas, probably. Insidious.

Sharing trauma feels like something different to vicarious trauma, don't you think?

Show threaddrkkolmes (they/them)Dec 30, 2022
@gramjoeldavies Oh absolutely. Vicarious trauma comes from empathic engagement vs actual exposure to the same trauma.
Show threadGram
@drkkolmes I think I conceive of vicarious trauma as a mix of mirroring the other's state but also of not feeling held in the work oneself. Good networks, personal therapy, colleagues, and home life mean the therapist isnt the echo chamber of suffering alone. But for a therapist in a hard, oprressive organisation where their work is not understood, this may not be the case.
Dec 30, 2022 at 11:22amWeb