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There is no assignment this week only two discussions.

Week 6: Countertransference, Secondary Traumatic Stress Disorder, Vicarious Traumatization, Burnout, and Wellness Among Human Services Professionals

Have you ever misdirected feelings of anger or resentment toward someone due to a related yet different experience? Have you ever watched coverage of a crisis event on television and been moved to tears, even though you did not experience its effects first hand? Or had friends confide in you about difficult issues in their lives so much that you began to feel like you had experienced their problems as well? Have you ever felt overwhelmed, disillusioned, and frustrated with your responsibilities at work, perhaps complaining of feeling “burned out”? These common experiences may provide you a basis for understanding the complex dynamics of four important topics in the field of crisis and intervention: countertransference, secondary traumatic stress disorder, vicarious traumatization, and burnout. This week, you explore how and why human services professionals experience countertransference, secondary traumatic stress disorder, vicarious traumatization, and burnout. In addition, you consider wellness strategies that can be used to prevent burnout.

Learning Resources
Required Readings

James, R. K. & Gilliland, B.E. (2017). Crisis intervention strategies (8th ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.

· Chapter 16, “Human Services Workers in Crisis: Burnout, Vicarious Traumatization, and Compassion Fatigue”

Borritz, M., Rugulies, R., Bjorner, J., Villadsen, E., Mikkelsen, O. A., & Kristensen, T. S. (2006). Burnout among employees in human service work: Design and baseline findings of the PUMA study. Scandinavian Journal of Public Health, 34(1), 49–58.

This article analyzes the results of a study that explored burnout among human services professionals in Denmark using a new burnout tool, the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory. Potential determinants and consequences of burnout are discussed.

Ducharme, L. J., Knudsen, H. K., & Roman, P. M. (2008). Emotional exhaustion and turnover intention in human service occupations: The protective role of coworker support. Sociological Spectrum, 28(1), 81–104.

In this article, the authors examine how coworker support can help prevent emotional exhaustion, turnover, and burnout among human services professionals. The results of a study that analyzed data related to burnout among substance abuse treatment counselors are examined.

Rugulies, R., Christensen, K. B., Borritz, M., Villadsen, E., Bültmann, U., & Kristensen, T. S. (2007). The contribution of the psychosocial work environment to sickness absence in human service workers: Results of a 3-year follow-up study. Work & Stress, 21(4), 293–311.

This article analyzes the contribution of 16 different psychosocial factors to sickness absenteeism among 890 human services professionals. Implications for the psychosocial work environment are discussed.

This discussion is needed back by Tuesday @ 10pm no later please.
Discussion 1: Countertransference, Secondary Traumatic Stress Disorder, and Vicarious Traumatization

In previous weeks of this course, you explored many major aspects of crisis and intervention including the scope of crisis; skills, strategies, and models of intervention; the characteristics and nuances of crises affecting individuals, couples, families, and systems; and the collaborative nature of crisis intervention. Until now, your primary focus has been on the intricacies of how to help others experiencing a crisis. All too often, however, this unwavering focus on helping others cope with crises can lead human services professionals to their own personal and professional crises. In some cases, this can take the form of countertransference, in which human services professionals attribute their own personal experiences, feelings, or behaviors to the client they are treating. For example, a human services professional who felt guilty and inadequate for not being able to spend more time with a terminally ill family member in the past might find these feelings of guilt and inadequacy resurfacing during therapy sessions with a terminally ill client. Countertransference is especially common when human services professionals engage in intense therapy sessions with clients about highly sensitive topics such as abuse and suicide ideation.
In other cases, human services professionals may find themselves struggling with secondary traumatic stress disorder (STSD), also referred to as compassion fatigue. Secondary traumatic stress disorder is similar to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Like a sufferer of PTSD, a human services professional afflicted with STSD might experience recurrent nightmares of traumatic events, flashbacks, intense physical reactions to external cues reminiscent of the events, and feelings of numbness or detachment in their everyday lives. The difference is that these symptoms are due not to the direct experience of the traumatic events, but rather to secondary exposure to these events via conversations and interactions with clients who have experienced them.
Related to STSD is the phenomenon of vicarious traumatization. With vicarious traumatization, human services professionals experience fundamental, long-term, potentially permanent changes in their psyches and worldview as a result of working with survivors of crisis. Human services professionals may display the symptoms of an individual who has experienced a trauma although they, in fact, have been exposed to it only through the relating of these traumatic events to them by clients.
It is not difficult to understand why human services professionals working with crisis and intervention may be especially vulnerable to countertransference, STSD, and vicarious traumatization. Professionals who choose these specialties tend to be (and in fact need to be) extremely empathic, compassionate, and caring individuals. At the same time, these qualities can make human services professionals extremely susceptible to and overwhelmed by the profound emotions inevitably provoked by the tragic and heartbreaking situations they encounter.
To prepare for this Discussion:

· Review Chapter 16 in your course text, Crisis Intervention Strategies, focusing on how and why countertransference, secondary traumatic stress disorder, and vicarious traumatization occur. Also take note of the characteristics of each phenomenon, as well as the consequences that can occur when human services professionals experience them.

· Review the article, “Emotional Exhaustion and Turnover Intention in Human Service Occupations: The Protective Role of Coworker Support,” paying particular attention to the factors and situations that lead to emotional exhaustion.

· Reflect on the different settings in which human services professionals who specialize in crisis and intervention might work: domestic violence shelters, homeless shelters, rape crisis centers, natural/human-made disaster aid centers, crisis/suicide hotlines, substance abuse rehabilitation facilities, or any other specific setting you have studied throughout this course. Choose one setting and consider the types of events and client interactions that might occur over time that could lead a human services professional within this setting to experience one of the following: countertransference, secondary traumatic stress disorder, or vicarious traumatization.

· Consider the characteristics that a human services professional experiencing countertransference, secondary traumatic stress disorder, or vicarious traumatization within this setting might display. In addition, think about the consequences of this for both the human services professional and his or her clients.

With these thoughts in mind:

By Day 3

Post by Day 3 a brief description of the setting you selected and the various events and/or client interactions that might cause a human services professional within this setting to experience one of the following: countertransference, secondary traumatic stress disorder, or vicarious traumatization. Then describe at least three specific characteristics the human services professional might display when experiencing the associated phenomenon (countertransference, STSD, or vicarious traumatization) in this setting. Finally, explain the consequences of this phenomenon for both the human services professional and his or her clients in this setting. Be specific.
Be sure to support your postings and responses with specific references to the Learning Resources.

This Discussion is due on Wednesday no later than 10pm

Discussion 2: Wellness Strategies for Burnout Prevention

Burnout is one of the most significant threats to the ability of human services professionals in effectively helping clients cope with crisis. It is a pernicious and rampant force within all helping professions, and the human services field—especially the specialties of crisis and intervention—is no exception. Crisis intervention work is intrinsically stressful. In the course of their crisis work, human services professionals inevitably encounter situations and circumstances that are shocking, horrific, heartbreaking, and/or tragic. Although human services professionals are trained to deal with these events, they nevertheless take a toll—sometimes an extreme one. Compounding the difficulties of the profession are organizational issues. Human services professionals often work within larger agencies and infrastructures. Issues such as bureaucracy, poor leadership, inadequate compensation, and lack of community or fairness can cause frustration, dissatisfaction, and apathy—all contributing factors to burnout. As a result, it is essential that human services professionals working in crisis and intervention are proactive in burnout prevention. Wellness strategies are methods, practices, or processes that human services professionals can implement to make it more likely that they will maintain their mental and physical health while working in challenging situations. By developing and implementing wellness strategies, human services professionals can help reduce the risk of burnout. The bottom line is this: in order to effectively take care of others, human services professionals also must take care of themselves.
To prepare for this Discussion:

· Review Chapter 16 in your course text, Crisis Intervention Strategies, focusing on the contributing factors to burnout within the human services profession. Also pay particular attention to the various intervention strategies, often referred to as wellness strategies, which are outlined.

· Review the article, “The Contribution of the Psychosocial Work Environment to Sickness Absence in Human Service Workers: Results of a 3-Year Follow-Up Study,” focusing on how certain psychosocial work characteristics could be adjusted to minimize the incidence of burnout, given the results of the study.

· Review the article, “Burnout Among Employees in Human Service Work: Design and Baseline Findings of the PUMA Study,” paying particular attention to the contributors to burnout identified in the theoretical framework of the PUMA study.

· Review the article, “Emotional Exhaustion and Turnover Intention in Human Service Occupations: The Protective Role of Coworker Support,” noting the benefits of coworker support and how they reduce the risk of burnout within the human services workplace.

· Consider the factors that might contribute to burnout when doing crisis and intervention work. Then, reflect on the wellness (intervention) strategies a human services professional might implement to maintain his or her wellness and reduce the risk of burnout.

With these thoughts in mind:

By Day 4

Post by Day 4 a brief description of at least three specific factors that might lead to burnout when doing work in crisis and intervention. Then, describe at least three wellness (intervention) strategies human services professionals and/or the organizations for which they work might implement to prevent burnout. Explain why these strategies might be effective. Be specific.
Be sure to support your postings and responses with specific references to the Learning Resources.