A Scoping Review of Vicarious Trauma Interventions for Service Providers Working With People Who Have Experienced Traumatic Events.
Study Goal
The researchers aimed to review existing interventions, including mindfulness, for addressing vicarious trauma (VT) among service providers working with traumatized clients.
Results Summary
Mindfulness interventions showed promise in reducing secondary trauma stress, compassion fatigue, burnout, and other mental health outcomes, though the research lacked rigor and specificity regarding VT definitions.
Population
Health and human service providers aiding traumatized individuals.
Effective Dosage
Not specified
Duration
Not specified
Interactions
None mentioned
| Intervention | Direction | Endpoint | Population | Dosage | Impact | Claim # |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
psychoeducation | decrease | secondary trauma stress | service providers working with traumatized clients | - | showed promise | #1 |
psychoeducation | decrease | compassion fatigue | service providers working with traumatized clients | - | showed promise | #2 |
psychoeducation | decrease | burnout | service providers working with traumatized clients | - | showed promise | #3 |
psychoeducation | decrease | other mental health outcomes | service providers working with traumatized clients | - | showed promise | #4 |
mindfulness intervention | decrease | secondary trauma stress | service providers working with traumatized clients | - | showed promise | #5 |
mindfulness intervention | decrease | compassion fatigue | service providers working with traumatized clients | - | showed promise | #6 |
mindfulness intervention | decrease | burnout | service providers working with traumatized clients | - | showed promise | #7 |
mindfulness intervention | decrease | other mental health outcomes | service providers working with traumatized clients | - | showed promise | #8 |
art and recreational programs | decrease | secondary trauma stress | service providers working with traumatized clients | - | showed promise | #9 |
art and recreational programs | decrease | compassion fatigue | service providers working with traumatized clients | - | showed promise | #10 |
art and recreational programs | decrease | burnout | service providers working with traumatized clients | - | showed promise | #11 |
art and recreational programs | decrease | other mental health outcomes | service providers working with traumatized clients | - | showed promise | #12 |
alternative medicine therapy | decrease | secondary trauma stress | service providers working with traumatized clients | - | showed promise | #13 |
alternative medicine therapy | decrease | compassion fatigue | service providers working with traumatized clients | - | showed promise | #14 |
alternative medicine therapy | decrease | burnout | service providers working with traumatized clients | - | showed promise | #15 |
alternative medicine therapy | decrease | other mental health outcomes | service providers working with traumatized clients | - | showed promise | #16 |
Health and human service providers who aid traumatized individuals frequently experience vicarious trauma (VT). Although VT plays a critical role in service providers' mental health and well-being, as well as in the quality of their service provision, little information is available concerning the development and implementation of VT interventions for service providers. To advance the development of evidence in this area, we undertook a scoping review in which we reviewed existing interventions intended to address VT among service providers working with traumatized clients. Searches of electronic databases were conducted to identify studies published in peer-reviewed journals, with no date restrictions. Over 1,315 citations were reviewed, and a total of 27 studies were included in the final review. The findings show that VT interventions in the literature can be divided broadly into four categories: psychoeducation, mindfulness intervention, art and recreational programs, and alternative medicine therapy. The VT interventions reviewed generally showed promise in their key outcomes, including reductions in secondary trauma stress, compassion fatigue, burnout, and other mental health outcomes. However, the current body of research is lacking both in rigor and in specificity regarding the definition of VT. Furthermore, existing VT interventions are generally self-care based and tend to focus on general stress management rather than addressing the specific effects of VT. Therefore, we call for an increase in efforts to tailor VT interventions to different service settings and participant characteristics, as well as greater attention to developing primary VT interventions at the organizational level.