Empathy in the Treatment of Trauma and PTSD (PDF)

Survivors of trauma bring to their treatment setting an emotional intensity and a level of distress that can put considerable strain upon a clinician's empathic sensitivity. But while the profession has long been aware of the risks that trauma work poses to clinicians (and by extension to their clients and the therapeutic relationship itself), until now there have been few empirical studies on the prevalence, nature, and dynamics of countertransference and empathic stress reactions that result from working with traumatised clients. It is the purpose of this book to examine the ways in which mental health professionals are impacted by their work with survivors of trauma. A national research study forms the basis of the text and documents the different ways in which clinicians struggle to maintain therapeutic equilibrium and empathic attunement during clinical work with trauma clients. Among the many important findings of this study is the fact that all participants reported being emotionally and psychologically affected by their work, often to the point of changing their notions about human nature and the meaning of life. One of the major purposes of this book, therefore, is to suggest ways in which clinicians can manage their empathic strain without falling victim to vicarious traumatisation, burnout, and serious countertransference processes which may, in turn, undermine their clients' treatment processes.