“AM I THE ONLY ONE MESSED UP?” (Part 2 of 2)

We are ALL messed up!! Vicarious traumatization is unique to police officers, social workers and other crisis workers because of their frequent contact with human suffering, especially when dealing with children. Multidisciplinary child abuse members routinely must respond to situations where they are exposed to the worst of people and the worst of what people do to each other. The psychological impact of such incidents is referred to as vicarious traumatization.
Most investigators learn to maintain an emotional boundary in order to protect them from affecting their emotional needs; it is more challenging to separate while dealing with victims of trauma, particularly when the situation involves a child and to cope with such traumatization problem behaviors, such as drug, sex, food, and gambling addictions can develop.
This training will address ways police officers and social workers can deal with the two types of trauma that may be experienced: post-traumatic stress disorder and vicarious traumatization.