TPC-Journal-V5-Issue4

529 The Professional Counselor Volume 5, Issue 4, Pages 529–542 http://tpcjournal.nbcc.org © 2015 NBCC, Inc. and Affiliates doi:10.15241/scwh.5.4.529 Seth C. W. Hayden, NCC, is an Assistant Professor of Counseling at Wake Forest University. Derick J. Williams, NCC, is an Assistant Professor and Program Area Director of the Counselor Education Program School Counseling Specialty Area at the University of Virginia. Angela I. Canto is an Assistant Professor in the Psychological and Counseling Services program area at Florida State University. Tyler Finklea is a doctoral candidate in the Combined Counseling and School Psychology program at Florida State University and a graduate intern in the American University Counseling Center. Correspondence can be addressed to Seth C. W. Hayden, Wake Forest University, 1834 Wake Forest, Winston-Salem, NC 27106, haydensc@wfu.edu. Seth C. W. Hayden, Derick J. Williams, Angela I. Canto, Tyler Finklea Shelter From the Storm: Addressing Vicarious Traumatization Through Wellness-Based Clinical Supervision Counselors continually encounter clients who have experienced emotional and psychological trauma. Repeated vicarious exposure to clients’ trauma can affect counselors’ personal and professional wellness. Vicarious traumatization can impair counselors’ current and future clinical work and lead to significant distress. Clinical supervisors can play an important role in assessing and supporting counselors’ wellness related to vicarious traumatization. The purpose of this article is to introduce a framework and related strategies for counseling supervisors based on wellness theory to address vicarious traumatization in counselors. A case study is provided to illustrate an integrated wellness approach to supervision . Keywords: vicarious traumatization, counselor wellness, clinical supervision, emotional trauma, psychological trauma Mental health counselors who provide services to traumatized clients (e.g., military personnel, clients who have been victimized, witnesses to traumatic events) help to process traumatic experiences. Consequently, providing therapy to traumatized clients often involves the counselor listening to repeated graphic descriptions of traumatic recollections while remaining empathically engaged during discussions (Moulden & Firestone, 2007). For example, counselors working with military personnel and veterans may be provided information that involves the gruesome details of service members’ recollections, including death (e.g., via combat, witnessed aftermath of execution) and violence to children. In addition, these clients are often struggling to manage their own anxiety dealing with the overall threat to personal survival in combat situations. There also may be instances in which counselors are exposed to clinical concerns such as addictions that may not involve diagnosable traumatic stress but have the potential to be significantly impactful on the therapist. The effect of this vicarious exposure to clients’ experiences can place counselors at risk to be traumatized themselves. This exposure can negatively impact their psychological well-being and contribute to the development of vicarious trauma. Although there is some discussion within the professional literature regarding vicarious exposure to clients’ traumatizing recollections, limited information is available regarding how to address this issue in supervision. Supervisors may benefit from operating within a theoretical framework to support counselor supervisees’ exposure to vicarious trauma. Given the potential for significant detrimental effects on counselors, it seems imperative to focus attention on vicarious exposure to trauma within the context of clinical supervision.