The Effects of Trauma on Clients and Mental Health Counselors

October 29, 2017

Clinical mental health counselors generally expect that a client who has been through a
traumatic experience is affected in some way by that experience- The client may feel
stressed, vulnerable, scared, confused, and/or disoriented. What clinical mental health
counselors may not expect, though, is to be affected cognitively, emotionally, or even
physically, themselves by working with a trauma survivor. Trauma counselors may
experience vicarious trauma (VT) or secondary traumatic stress (STS), which is also
known as compassion fatigue. While VT affects thinking, STS affects feelings and
behavior.

Clinical mental health counselors need to understand and be aware of the effects of
disasters, crises, and other trauma-causing events on survivors and trauma response
helping professionals, and the roles they play as clinical mental health counselors in
responding to such events. Clinical mental health counselors also need to understand
the potential effects of VT and STS in order to develop strategies to mitigate and
address their effects- Therefore, in this assignment, you explore the various effects of
trauma-

To prepare for this Assignment:

Review the article, “A Calming Presence, ” focusing on the effects that disaster, crises,
and trauma have on survivors- Think about the role of clinical mental health counselors
when working with trauma survivors-

Review the articles on vicarious trauma. Pay attention to the effects that trauma
counseling can have on clinical mental health counselors- Think about the experience
of VT and/or STS and consider what strategies counselors might use to minimize
and/or address this experience.

Review the media in the Learning Resources- Focus on the emotional and physical
effects of vicarious trauma on clinical mental health counselors and strategies forminimizing them.

Select two examples of trauma-causing events to use for this assignment: one man-
made or natural disaster, such as a flood or a terrorist attack, and then select one more
personal trauma-causing crisis, such as spousal abuse or the suicide of a parent.
These examples are to be used as the bases of your responses. However, your
responses should generalize to any disaster, crisis, or trauma-causing event.

The Assignment (2-3 pages)

Briefly describe the two examples you selected.

Explain the potential effects these events may have on the survivors and the first
responders-

Explain how the counselor’s role may differ in treating a survivor of each of the traumas
you selected and how they may differ in treating a first responder to each of the
traumas.

Explain how a clinical mental health counselor could develop VT or STS in each of
these traumatic events. Describe two strategies a clinical mental health counselor
might use to mitigate or address VT or STS.

Support your Assignment with specific references to all resources used in its
preparation using appropriate APA format and style. You are asked to provide a
reference list for all resources, including those in the Learning Resources for this
course.

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