When I began my career in the police service back in 2000, I didn’t really know what secondary trauma was. As a welfare adviser (pre counselling training), I wanted to prove myself. Prove that I could deal with some of the more difficult and demanding parts of the role, supporting officers and staff following traumatic events.
I used to be frustrated that there may have been some hesitance on the part of my colleagues for not immediately offering themselves up to respond as soon as something happened. Now, I know how important it is to deploy self care. Their experience had led them to consider what needed to be done and at the right time to ensure the role of the welfare adviser was to be able to support adequately without being affected by the trauma as well.
I did experience secondary trauma on at least one occasion, in part due to my eagerness to learn and help others. I remember accompanying a colleague with attending an operational debrief so that we could offer some support to the officers afterwards. Those were the days when critical incident stress debriefing were in full swing, encouraging officers and staff to air their feelings and experiences after a traumatic event. I attended many of these briefings and they were horrific back then, in my opinion, and rarely felt safe.
A young child had been killed in a farming accident. A man who was driving a tractor had no idea that his child had run towards him with excitement and was crushed by one of the tractor’s rear wheels. This was obviously horrendous for the officers who attended. The emotion and distress in the room at the time of the de-brief was palpable. I remember feeling quite helpless and hopeless, walking out of the station after that in a complete daze. I had to get some supplies from the supermarket after work and I think I picked up a shopping basket, walked around the shop and then walked out to my car without picking up or buying a single thing.
For a few months afterwards I avoided taking my toddler anywhere that might have tractors. This was difficult in itself as kids generally love everything to do with farms, and tractors seemed to be in every damn pre-school reading book!
After a while, the emotions attached to seeing tractors faded. Many years later, I am still reminded of the tragic events of that day but only as fleeting thoughts prompted by the sight of a tractor. I never really spoke about this to anyone. It was pre-counselling training too so I was not in regular clinical supervision which all counsellors are required to be. Through my training, I realised I had suffered secondary trauma with this event.
Secondary trauma can be incurred when an individual is exposed to people who have been traumatized themselves, disturbing descriptions of traumatic events by a survivor, or others inflicting cruelty on one another.[1] Symptoms of secondary trauma are similar to those of PTSD (e.g intrusive re-experiencing of the traumatic material, avoidance of trauma triggers/emotions, negative changes in beliefs and feelings and hyperarousal) – Wikipedia
Nurses, doctors, mental health workers, social workers, counsellors and emergency service personnel are particularly vulnerable to secondary trauma as their work regularly revolves around those who have experienced trauma directly. Those who empathise deeply and develop a strong connection with the traumatised individual can also be more affected. Hence why it is possible to experience secondary trauma when a loved one has been through something so traumatic. Children for example, are developmentally vulnerable and rely on adults in their life for stability and keeping them safe. Exposure to news footage and social media of traumatic events can lead to unsettlement for children and if a parent or main carer is directly traumatised by an event, then the child can soak up the negative emotions and behaviours expressed by the adult.
There are physical, emotional and behavioural signs and symptoms of secondary trauma including (this list is not exhaustive):
Intrusive thoughts / sleep problems / anxiety / worry / sadness / shame / detachment / anger / chronic fatigue / hyperarousal / poor concentration / avoidance / relationship issues / feeling unskilled in your job / negativity in the workplace / guilt
So how can we keep ourselves protected from secondary trauma?
Self Awareness: Identify as early as possible when or if these symptoms take hold. I am an advocate of self awareness and believe this is important for officers and staff in a policing environment to have in order for catching those early warning signs. Training, continued professional development, resilience courses, reading, reflective practice and counselling can all help with this.
Work life balance: Is it all work and no play? Imagine what your nearest and dearest might say about how you use your down time – they are usually the best for feedback!
Talk: Communicate as best you can with those you trust – a peer, supervisor, friend, family member. It is definitely good to talk!
Self care: Do more of the things that are good for you. All too often when we go through difficult times, we can stop doing things that keep us balanced emotionally – our hobbies and interests. Then sometimes we can start doing things that aren’t so good for us, like drinking more alcohol. I like to write, you may enjoy other creative activities – drawing, painting, making clothes or cards. Exercise, sport and hobbies/interests are very healthy to ensure you are not all consumed by your work or source of potential trauma exposure.
Safe personal boundaries: Be mindful of your values and stay true to them. There are times when they can be tested and your pull to help another human being in need can test your boundaries, blurring the lines of your professional role…don’t give out personal numbers, stick to time boundaries, think about how you are communicating to clients, victims etc. and always hold in mind your exit strategy. Be professional always.
Therapy and/or reflective practice: A stint of therapy can be great for boosting personal awareness, understanding repetitive patterns of behaviour and affecting change for the better. More roles are having the opportunity for reflective practice with someone who knows what they are doing – if you get the chance, go for it as it can bring clarity to your role and decision making and give you opportunity to discuss the challenges and seek restorative support.
Relaxation: Learn to switch off – literally! All phones, social media, news etc. especially before bed time. Some quiet, relaxation time with less ruminating about the past and worrying about what might happen in the future. Mindfulness is a great practice to try.
Consider seeing a GP if symptoms are becoming unmanageable and are causing you concern.
Vicarious Trauma
Unlike Secondary Trauma, which can be experienced suddenly and with one interaction, Vicarious Trauma (VT) can occur through empathic engagement with traumatised people and listening or reading about their experiences, usually over time with the effects building up accumulatively.
Investigators within policing can be particularly prone to this element of trauma, such as major crime and cases involving child sexual exploitation/abuse for example. Cases of this nature means that engagement with victims and witnesses can go on for many months, sometimes longer. The deeper the empathy and relationship, even on a professional level, the more vulnerable we are to vicarious trauma.
To use another personal example, many years ago I worked with child protection officers, providing welfare assessments during my training to become a counsellor. The idea of these assessments was to allow the officers time to download their experiences in a confidential environment and to identify support options if need be. Again, my eagerness to want to help them, experiencing empathy very deeply and having a very young daughter all conspired in a way that was most unsettling for a few months.
Bearing in mind officers had opened up to me about the worst parts of their investigations, I heard a lot of things pertaining to child abuse regularly with varying severity. It became difficult for me to bathe my daughter without having flashes of images I had conjured in my own mind from the real stories of child abuse. I felt distressed and guilty about these experiences and began to avoid bath time, leaving this to my husband. I did eventually seek help and spoke to my supervisor about it. The experience of talking about these things out loud, for me, were cathartic and took the power away from my thoughts and images which faded and reduced.
I’d been described as a “natural therapist” by many but I hadn’t developed the skill of being empathic in a safe way. My counselling training and using clinical supervision effectively as well as engaging and sharing with my peers has led to a very safe practice for me as a professional since those early times and it would be rare for me now to experience secondary or vicarious trauma.
As a police officer or anyone who is routinely exposed to potentially traumatic events, it is normal to have reactions and as much as it is an employer’s duty of care to ensure support mechanisms are in place, it is also our responsibility to ensure we are taking care of ourselves too.
Listen to your body, notice your reactions, learn positive coping strategies and know when you need to seek help. It is there if you ever need it.
Don’t suffer in silence.