Vicarious Traumatization

Vicarious Traumatization refers in particular to the change in a person's thought pattern (i.e., their worldview or sense of self) that behavioral healthcare providers or other therapist can experience when empathizing with individuals who have suffered a trauma. The term may be used in conjunction with secondary trauma or compassion fatigue, which refer more broadly to behavioral healthcare professionals experiencing similar trauma-related physical, psychological, and other changes in thoughts, mood and symptoms that the individuals they are treating are dealing with from their trauma (Newell & MacNeil, 2010) facilitate subsequent and/or repeated trauma.