Abstract
Professionals in social services agencies play an essential role in assisting trauma victims. However, research shows that secondary exposure to trauma can have lasting effects on the professionals helping the victims. As a result, this exposure may result in negative psychological responses, including secondary traumatic stress (STS), vicarious trauma (VT), burnout, and compassion fatigue. A systematic search was used across relevant research databases (Granite State College Library, Google Scholar, PubMed) for studies regarding secondary trauma exposure in social services professions. In addition, a survey was distributed to fourteen leaders. The research and survey aimed to explore the prevalence and risk factors of secondary trauma exposure reported by leadership, how leaders recognize exposure to secondary trauma in their staff, their comfort levels taking about traumatic experiences, and how they addressed it with their team.
Project Type
Capstone
College or School
College of Professional Studies Granite Division
Program or Major
Leadership
Date
Winter 2023
Recommended Citation
Mace, Amanda, "Understanding Leadership's Role in Recognizing and Navigating Secondary Trauma Exposure to Create a Positive, Supportive, and Healthy Workplace" (2023). M.S. in Leadership. 120.
https://scholars.unh.edu/ms_leadership/120