Secondary Trauma Prevention Project:

Responding to Emotionally Traumatized Child Protective Services Workers

David Conrad, L.M.S.W. - A.C.P. and Michelle Acker, M.A.

The ChildTrauma Academy
www.ChildTrauma.org

ABSTRACT

In 1995, the ChildTrauma Programs introduced the Critical Incident Response Teams Project (CIRT). The purpose was to provide stress debriefings for Texas CPS workers emotionally impacted by child death cases. Over the last four years, ChildTrauma staff has conducted approximately 40 stress debriefings. The facts surrounding these cases are often so disturbing that CPS staff are emotionally overwhelmed and adversely affected. Studies of caseworkers who witness severe cases of trauma and/or work with children and families in crisis indicate that they are at significant risk for developing secondary trauma or even post-traumatic stress disorders (Figley, 1995).

The ChildTrauma Programs began offering Secondary Trauma Training Seminars to TDPRS caseworkers in 1998. The Secondary Trauma Seminars are one-day supportive, psycho-educational interventions that utilize didactic, experiential and therapeutic methods to explore the impact of job-related stress. General didactic information is presented in lecture form and is followed by an experiential exercise (a modified version of an exercise developed by psychologist, Dr. Marsha Heiman) to help participants explore the impact that their work has had on them. The afternoon session is a structured discussion group in which participants are encouraged to develop personal strategies for recognizing and addressing secondary trauma symptomatology.

INTRODUCTION

Each year in Texas, 900,000 children are at risk for abuse and neglect. In 1998, Texas Department of Protective and Regulatory Services (TDPRS) received 151,394 reports of alleged child abuse and confirmed almost 40,000 cases of child maltreatment. TDPRS employs over two thousand Child Protective Services (CPS) caseworkers to respond to the overwhelming needs of these traumatized children. In the course of their work, caseworkers are frequently exposed to a wide range of traumatic events including child deaths, child victims of violent assaults, and extreme child neglect. Research indicates that professionals who work directly with victims of traumatic events are at risk for developing secondary traumatic stress (also known as compassion fatigue, burnout and vicarious traumatization) (Figley, 1995). Pearlman defines vicarious traumatization as "a process of change resulting from engagement with trauma survivors." (Pearlman, 1995a). Symptoms include social withdrawal, fear, anger, anxiety, depression, intrusive images, and numbing or avoidance. Caseworkers are particularly vulnerable to developing these symptoms due to their frequent and ongoing exposure to traumatic events and lack of sufficient "recovery" time between events. CPS workers appear to be at serious risk of developing traumatic stress reactions that influence professional and personal adjustment. Indeed, 37% of newly hired caseworkers resign during their first year of employment.

Since 1995, the ChildTrauma Academy has offered stress debriefings for CPS caseworkers involved in child death cases. Caseworkers frequently articulated a need for more training and education to address their emotional stress resulting from their ongoing exposure to traumatic events. The Secondary Trauma Training Seminar was developed in response to this expressed need.

CONCLUSIONS

• Texas Department of Child Protective Services caseworkers are suffering from very high levels of compassion fatigue and burnout.
• Caseworkers desire additional training and psycho-education to help them cope with their ongoing exposure to traumatic events.
• Peer support has been identified as a source of significant psychological benefit for caseworkers.
• State Child Protection Agencies must make caseworkers feel well cared for and provide them with hope for the future.

NEXT STEPS

TDPRS recognizes the success of this project in providing caseworkers with a forum to talk about how they are emotionally impacted by their work. Further, this project allows caseworkers to develop strategies to prevent the development of secondary trauma. TDPRS has pledged continuing support to explore ways to assist caseworkers emotionally impacted by their work. In the next phase of this project, the ChildTrauma Academy has proposed working intensively with supervisors to assist them in creating ‘process groups’ so caseworkers will have dedicated time to talk about how they are emotionally impacted by their work.

REFERENCES

Figley, C.R. (Ed.)(1995) Compassion fatigue: coping with secondary stress disorder in those who treat the traumatized. New York: Brunner/Mazel.

Pearlman, LA & Saakvitne, K.S. (1995a). Trauma and the therapist: Countertransference and vicarious traumatization in psychotherapy with incest survivors. New York: W.W. Norton.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Visit www.ChildTrauma.org for more information the ChildTrauma Academy.