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Secondary Trauma: Definitions, Causes and How to Get Help

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Marketing Department
February 1, 2021

Secondary Trauma: Definitions, Causes and How to Get Help

Experiencing traumatizing events first-hand can lead to many unhealthy mental health outcomes. Unfortunately, these outcomes sometimes extend beyond the initial victims through secondary trauma. When exposed to individuals with trauma, it’s possible for a person to develop symptoms themselves. In many cases, these symptoms are as bad as first-hand trauma.

Transformations Treatment Center dedicates itself to helping all victims of trauma. If you’re suffering from distressing symptoms linked to events you weren’t even part of, it’s still important to seek help. Take a moment to review our guide and gain a better understanding of secondary trauma. And if you think you’re experiencing symptoms, contact us immediately.

What Is Secondary Trauma?

When someone experiences a traumatizing event, the mind responds in different ways. In some cases, these events cause so much stress that they interfere with a person’s normal life. Significant mental health issues such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can also arise. And, as many medical professionals have learned, similar issues can develop when exposed to trauma victims.

Victims of secondary trauma experience symptoms similar to PTSD. This is more serious than a simple “being around sad people makes me sad.” This form of trauma typically occurs when a person who didn’t go through an event hears a description of its distressing elements. The term sometimes gets used interchangeably with compassion fatigue and vicarious trauma, but there are differences.

  • Compassion Fatigue: Secondary Traumatic Stress (STS) affects health care professionals who treat trauma patients. Compassion fatigue affects professionals who deal with any patient types.
  • Vicarious Trauma: Individuals who suffer altered views of the world, others and themselves following exposure to trauma victims may have vicarious trauma.

While STS, compassion fatigue and vicarious trauma may seem solely linked to health care professionals, this isn’t always the case. A significant amount of research has also delved into the potential of parental trauma directly affecting children. This mental health risk often receives less attention because it’s typically referred to as transgenerational or intergenerational trauma. 

Secondary trauma can affect anyone from highly educated psychiatric professionals to young children who overhear distressing stories from their parents. The risk of this indirect exposure leading to a diagnosable disorder increases as the survivor’s recounting of trauma grows more vivid. Trauma essentially becomes as real as a person’s brain allows it to become.

Causes of Secondary Trauma

While much of the literature on STS focuses on those who encounter traumatized individuals, some experts believe that merely hearing about events can lead to symptoms. Children under 10 who had no connection to the events on 9/11, for instance, still had a higher risk of PTSD if they viewed coverage of the event. Additionally, more than 10% of parents who saw coverage developed PTSD symptoms.

Research also shows that health care professionals outside of the mental health field encounter secondary traumatic stress. First responders, nurses, general practitioners and even sexual assault advocates deal with this mental health disorder. There is a reason, though, that most research involves psychiatric professionals.

While it may seem counterintuitive on the surface, an essential step in the stages of trauma recovery involves discussing the traumatizing event in detail. This is how many people take back their own narrative and build some semblance of control in their lives. Unfortunately for mental health professionals, listening to these stories is a leading cause of secondary trauma.

Symptoms of Secondary Trauma

We expect to feel symptoms of anxiety after experiencing a traumatizing event. Similarly, those exposed to trauma victims will understandably feel a level of sadness as well. When these issues become persistent or interfere with a person’s life, though, they may need to seek professional help. Dealing with trauma — even indirectly — carries obvious red flags.

It’s important to note that some researchers view STS as a reaction rather than a disorder when it happens to mental health professionals. They claim that since the symptoms subside, it’s not actual trauma. Symptoms also usually subside, though, even in those who experience trauma directly. Only a small percentage of victims — both direct and indirect — will ever fully develop PTSD.

To avoid this possibility, it’s important to catch the following symptoms of secondary trauma early:

  • Feelings of helplessness
  • Re-experiencing trauma
  • Hyperarousal
  • Avoiding trauma triggers
  • Changes in feelings or beliefs
  • Sleep disturbances
  • Changes in appetite
  • Withdrawing from others
  • Feelings of numbness or detachment
  • Substance abuse to deal with stress

Acute symptoms can subside within a month of experiencing primary or secondary trauma. This doesn’t mean, however, that a “wait and see” approach is appropriate. Failing to get early treatment can cause symptoms that eventually become long term. If you ignore trauma until it turns into PTSD, you’ll have a much more serious issue to deal with.

Treatment for Secondary Trauma

When a person develops a mental health disorder linked to indirect trauma, no major difference exists between their diagnosis and someone with direct trauma. PTSD is PTSD regardless of its underlying cause. Fortunately, this means we have a variety of therapeutic options to treat STS. The effectiveness of the treatments will vary by person, so it’s important to create an individualized plan.

  • Behavioral therapies (CBT)
  • Psychotherapy
  • Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR)
  • Treatment of common co-occurring disorders
  • Prescriptions (e.g. anti-anxiety and depression meds)
  • Individuals, group or family therapy
  • Neurotherapy

Transformations Treatment Center offers each of these therapeutic approaches and more. We also have a First Responder Treatment program geared toward helping those who encounter trauma victims as a normal part of life. While not every treatment will be right for every client, our goal is to find the right combination of therapies that can help you overcome secondary trauma.

Secondary Trauma Is Still Trauma: Find Help Now

Traumatizing events can have significant effects on those who experience them. Unfortunately, the damage from these distressing situations doesn’t always confine itself to one person. If a friend, relative or even a patient has gone through a painful incident, feelings of empathy toward them could create secondary trauma in your mind.

Transformations Treatment Center has a staff of certified professionals who deal with all types of trauma. They understand that a traumatized mind cares little if the experience of an event was firsthand. Fortunately, there is help available for those who seek it. Contact us today to learn how our individualized approach to treatment can help you take your life back.

Sources

APA PsychNet
https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1996-97172-003

Journal of Anxiety Disorders
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17276653/

Psychiatric Times
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3014548/

Centers for Disease Control
https://www.cdc.gov/childrensmentalhealth/ptsd.html