Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Interventions for Secondary Traumatic Stress With Mental Health Workers: A Systematic Review
Melissa L. Bercier and Brandy R. Maynard
Research on Social Work Practice published online 20 April 2014
DOI: 10.1177/1049731513517142
The online version of this article can be found at:
http://rsw.sagepub.com/content/early/2014/04/16/1049731513517142
Published by:
http://www.sagepublications.com
Additional services and information for Research on Social Work Practice can be found at:
Email Alerts: http://rsw.sagepub.com/cgi/alerts
Subscriptions: http://rsw.sagepub.com/subscriptions
Reprints: http://www.sagepub.com/journalsReprints.nav
Permissions: http://www.sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav
Citations: http://rsw.sagepub.com/content/early/2014/04/16/1049731513517142.refs.html
Downloaded from rsw.sagepub.com at The Hebrew University Library Authority on June 3, 2014
Research Article
Abstract
Objective: A systematic review was conducted to examine effects of indicated interventions to reduce symptoms of secondary
traumatic stress (STS) experienced by mental health workers. Method: Systematic review methods were employed to search,
retrieve, select, and analyze studies that met study inclusion criteria. Results: Over 4,000 citations were reviewed, 159 full-text
reports were screened, and two studies were fully coded and determined to be ineligible. No studies met criteria for inclusion in
this review. Discussion: There is compelling evidence of psychological effects of working with trauma victims; however, no
rigorous evidence meeting eligibility criteria was found to inform how to intervene most effectively with mental health workers
who experience symptoms of STS. While it is important to provide effective interventions to helpers who may be experiencing
symptoms related to secondary trauma, it seems apparent that there is yet more we need to do in order to advance efforts in
evaluating the outcomes of practices currently being used and under development.
Keywords
systematic review, secondary traumatic stress, vicarious trauma, compassion fatigue
1
2
Walk and Talk Therapy & Life Consulting, P.C, Elmhurst, IL, USA
School of Social Work, Saint Louis University, St. Louis, MO, USA
Corresponding Author:
Brandy R. Maynard, School of Social Work, Saint Louis University, Tegeler Hall,
3550 Lindell Boulevard, St. Louis, MO 63103, USA.
Email: bmaynar1@slu.edu
Downloaded from rsw.sagepub.com at The Hebrew University Library Authority on June 3, 2014
Downloaded from rsw.sagepub.com at The Hebrew University Library Authority on June 3, 2014
Method
Systematic review procedures, following the Campbell Collaboration guidelines (see www.campbellcollaboration.org),
were used for all aspects of the search, retrieval, selection, and
Search Strategy
A comprehensive and systematic search strategy was conducted in an attempt to identify and retrieve all relevant published and unpublished studies meeting inclusion criteria.
The search, completed in September 2012, involved several
sources including electronic databases; search of websites of
relevant research institutes, academies, and professional associations; personal contacts with researchers working in the
field; and reference lists of studies and prior reviews. Eleven
databases (i.e., Academic Search Premier, Database of
Abstracts of Reviews of Effectiveness, Loyolas library catalog, Published International Literature on Traumatic Stress,
ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, PsychInfo, Social Services
Abstracts, Social Work Abstracts, Sociological Abstracts,
TRIP Database, and WorldCat) were searched using the following key words: (compassion fatigue OR secondary
traumatic stress OR vicarious trauma*) AND (evaluation
OR intervention OR treatment OR outcome) AND (social
worker OR mental health OR therapist OR counselor OR
psychologist). All fields were searched in each database using
the key words listed above. Variations and plurals of key words
were searched using the wildcard character when allowed by
the database (e.g., outcome*).
Downloaded from rsw.sagepub.com at The Hebrew University Library Authority on June 3, 2014
Results
The search procedures yielded 4,134 titles. After review of
titles and abstracts, 191 were identified for full-text retrieval;
however, 32 were duplicate reports that had been listed in more
than one source. The full text of 159 reports was then retrieved
and screened for basic eligibility criteria. Of those 159 reports,
8 appeared to be reporting effects of interventions with CF,
STS, and/or VT. Of those eight reports, six were excluded at
the screening stage because they did not meet eligibility criteria
related to study design or participant characteristics and two
were excluded at the full coding stage (see Table 1 for a summary of excluded intervention studies). One of the two studies
that went to full coding was excluded because the study
(Cohen, Gagin, & Peled-Avram, 2006) was not a true experimental intervention study, but rather a retrospective survey
examining the relationship between level of secondary traumatization and reported participation in supervision and debriefing and is therefore not included in Table 1. No studies met
inclusion criteria for this review. See Figure 1 for the flowchart
detailing the search and selection process.
Downloaded from rsw.sagepub.com at The Hebrew University Library Authority on June 3, 2014
Downloaded from rsw.sagepub.com at The Hebrew University Library Authority on June 3, 2014
Wlodarczyk (2010)
Dissertation
Cluster RCT
Results
NSQ
N 25; variety of
professionals (e.g.,
police, court,
hospital,
psychotherapy)
N 68; hospice
workers (e.g.,
doctors, nurses,
social workers,
home health aides,
and chaplains)
N 72; domestic
violence shelter
workers
ProQOL R-V;
SQ; SHS
CSFST, TRS,
SRS, GCS
N 5; licensed
marriage and family
therapists
TSI (at pretest, Author concluded that the model Did not meet study design
or participant criteria
of art therapy is effective in
no posttest);
reducing secondary trauma and
NSQs
burnout for mental health
workers who work with
domestic violence and sexual
assault survivors
Did not meet study design
N 83; licensed mental CFSFT
Participants reported significant
criteria
health counselors
reduction in compassion fatigue
and burnout and elevation of
compassion satisfaction at
posttest
Measures
Note. SGPP single group pre-post test; QED quasi-experimental design; RCT randomized controlled trial; ITS interrupted time-series design; CSFST Compassion Satisfaction Self-Test; TSI Trauma
Symptom Inventory; NSQ nonstandardized questionnaire(s); HCGI Hospice Clinician Grief Inventory; CSF compassion satisfaction and fatigue test; WES Work Environment Scale; IES Impact of
Events Scale; PSS Modified PTSD Symptom Scale; TSIB Traumatic Stress Institute Belief Scale; CSI Coping Strategies Inventory; ACTS assessment of coping with traumatic stress; ProQOL R-V
Professional Quality of Life: Compassion Satisfaction and Fatigue Subscale; SQ Symptom Questionnaire; SHS State Hope Scale; PTSD posttraumatic stress disorder.
Jeffrey (1999)
Dissertation
Feedback based on
assessment battery
scores and suggestions
to ameliorate
secondary traumatic
stress
Vicarious resiliency
training; 3-day training
Shew (2010)
Dissertation
Novoa (2011)
Dissertation
ITS
SGPP
Certified Compassion
Fatigue Specialist
Training (training-astreatment); 1720 hr
over a 2- to 3-day
period
Sharevision 6 expressive SGPP
arts-integrated workshops; 18.75 hr over 12
weeks
RCT
50-min Reiki treatment
once weekly for 4
weeks
Landis (2010)
Dissertation
Sample
Study Design
Art therapy8-week
program
Intervention
Study/Publication Type
Identification
Screening
Coded 2 studies
Excluded 2 studies upon
further inspection
0 studies included
Included
Downloaded from rsw.sagepub.com at The Hebrew University Library Authority on June 3, 2014
base to inform decision making and clinical practice with mental health workers experiencing symptoms of CF, STS, and VT.
Funding
The authors received no financial support for the research, authorship,
and/or publication of this article.
Limitations
While this study sheds light onto the present status of CF, STS,
and VT intervention research with mental health professionals,
the present study is not without limitations. Despite our
attempts at a comprehensive and exhaustive search process,
we may not have discovered potentially eligible studies.
Although we intended this review to focus on a specific problem and population to provide more specific evidenceinformed guidance, this review was limited to those studies that
were examining effects of indicated interventions with mental
health workers with a stated goal of affecting symptoms of CF,
STS, and/or VT. Also, our review was limited to English language articles and thus we may have missed relevant studies
written in other languages. Despite these limitations, the present review provides an important contribution for both
researchers and practitioners in shedding light onto the state
of knowledge of interventions intended to treat mental health
workers experiencing symptoms of CF, STS, and VT.
Conclusion
Mental health workers who treat clients who have experienced
trauma may experience symptoms of CF, STS, and VT that can
have debilitating effects on the mental health worker as well as
compromise the care they provide to clients. Although there
has been a priority on developing and rigorously assessing
trauma interventions for those who directly experience various
types of trauma, it appears that little effort is being made to rigorously test interventions to help the helpers. While there may
be some aspects or techniques of primary trauma treatment that
can inform and be adapted to treat CF, STS, and VT, we should
be careful to not assume that trauma interventions intended to
treat primary trauma will be effective in treating CF, STS, and
VT. Like all other interventions, interventions intended to treat
mental health workers also need to undergo rigorous evaluationwe need rigorous evidence to inform effective care to the
helpers so they can continue to provide effective care to those
they are intending to help. While it is important to provide
effective interventions to mental health workers who may be
experiencing symptoms related to the trauma material to which
they are exposed when working with trauma clients, it seems
apparent that there is yet more we need to learn about the phenomenon and steps we need to take to advance efforts in intervening with mental health workers experiencing symptoms of
CF, STS, and VT. There is yet much to be gained from further
research in this area for mental health workers, organizations as
a whole, and their clients.
Declaration of Conflicting Interests
The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to
the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
References
Adams, S. A., & Riggs, S. A. (2008). An exploratory study of vicarious trauma among therapist trainees. Training and Education in
Professional Psychology, 2, 2634. doi:10.1037/1931-3918.
2.1.26
Astin, M. C. (1997). Traumatic therapy: How helping rape victims
affects me as a therapist. Women and Therapy, 20, 101109.
doi:10.1300/J015v20n01_17
Beck, C. (2011). Secondary traumatic stress in nurses: A systematic
review. Archives of Psychiatric Nursing, 25, 110. doi:10.1016/
j.apnu.2010.05.005
Bober, T., & Regehr, C. (2006). Strategies for reducing secondary or
vicarious trauma: Do they work? Brief Treatment and Crisis Intervention, 6, 19. doi:10.1093/brief-treatment/ mhj001
Boscarino, J. A., Adams, R. E., & Figley, C. R. (2010). Secondary
trauma issues for psychiatrists. Psychiatric Times, 27, 2426.
Bride, B. E. (2007). Prevalence of secondary traumatic stress among
social workers. Social Work, 25, 6370. doi:10.1093/sw/52.1.63
Bride, B. E., Radey, M., & Figley, C. R. (2007). Measuring compassion fatigue. Clinical Social Work Journal, 35, 155163.
doi:10.1007/s10615-007-0091-7
Choi, G.-Y. (2011). Secondary traumatic stress of service providers
who practice with survivors of family or sexual violence: A
national survey of social workers. Smith College Studies in Social
Work, 81, 101119. doi:10.1080/00377317.2011.543044
Clark, M. L., & Gioro, S. (1998). Nurses, indirect trauma and prevention. Image: Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 30, 8587.
doi:10.1111/j.1547-5069.1998.tb01242.x
Cohen, M., Gagin, R., & Peled-Avram, M. (2006). Multiple terrorist
attacks: Compassion fatigue in Israeli social workers. Traumatology, 12, 293301. doi:10.1177/1534 765606297820
Conrad, D., & Kellar-Guenther, Y. (2006). Compassion fatigue, burnout, and compassion satisfaction among Colorado child protection
workers. Child Abuse and Neglect, 30, 10711080. doi:10.1016/
j.chiabu.2006.03.009
Craig, C. D., & Sprang, G. (2010). Compassion satisfaction, compassion fatigue, and burnout in a national sample of trauma treatment
therapists. Anxiety, Stress, and Coping, 23, 319339. doi:10.1080/
10615800903085818
Davis, J. A. (1996). Sadness, tragedy and mass disaster in Oklahoma
City: Providing critical incident stress debriefing to a community
in crisis. Accident and Emergency Nursing, 4, 5964. doi:10.1016/
S0965-2302(96)90002-8
Devilly, G., Wright, R., & Varker, T. (2009). Vicarious trauma, secondary traumatic stress or simply burnout? Effect of trauma therapy on mental health professionals. Australian and New Zealand
Journal of Psychiatry, 43, 373385. doi:10.1080/0004867090
2721079
Dunkley, J., & Whelan, T. A. (2006). Vicarious traumatization: Current status and future directions. British Journal of Guidance and
Counselling, 34, 107116. doi:10.1080/03069880500483166
Downloaded from rsw.sagepub.com at The Hebrew University Library Authority on June 3, 2014
Downloaded from rsw.sagepub.com at The Hebrew University Library Authority on June 3, 2014
Downloaded from rsw.sagepub.com at The Hebrew University Library Authority on June 3, 2014