Healthcare, social care and mental health workers who are exposed to the traumatic experiences of others may run the risk of compassion fatigue (‘a profound emotional and physical erosion that takes place when helpers are unable to refuel and regenerate’), or Secondary Trauma, sometimes called Vicarious Trauma. In this case, ‘secondary’ means that although the original (primary) trauma happened to someone else, the impact it’s having in your life is traumatic for you.

As individuals and organisations working with survivors of trauma, we need to think about how we care for ourselves and those around us, to mitigate the risks of secondary trauma.

“The expectation that we can be immersed in suffering and loss daily and not be touched by it is as unreaslistic as expecting to be able to walk through water without getting wet”  Dr Rachel Ramen