Have You Heard About Vicarious Trauma?

The answer is quite probably no, although it is being increasingly talked about, and is something that archives services are becoming more aware of. Also known as “secondary trauma”, it has the potential to be experienced by many of us.

Secondary trauma is a recognised occupational hazard for police officers, paramedics, rescue workers and counsellors. It defines the process by which indirect exposure to disturbing or horrific events, often affecting loss of life, impacts on those who may be required to deal with the aftermath of, for example, a civil war, a terrorist attack or a natural disaster. Of course, these occupations are probably even more likely to be subject to primary trauma, whereby they are directly involved in dealing with casualties, civil war, earthquakes or loss of life from some other cause.  

For example, soldiers from regiments serving in Europe, at the end of World War II, could be excused from volunteering in the reconnaissance parties of Allied troops that entered Nazi concentration camps, in order to liberate them, for this very reason.   

So what, exactly, is vicarious trauma, and how do we deal with it? In terms of archives, vicarious trauma can come about because of reading through coroner’s reports, victim statements, records of historic childhood abuse, records of atrocities and similar material. It defines the unwanted, intrusive and distressing emotional impact of having seen, or heard, extremely upsetting accounts of people’s experiences, often at the hands of others.

It is the extreme nature of vicarious trauma that really defines it – it is not about feeling sad, or a little disturbed; it is about being affected, on a deeply emotional level, by what you have been researching. It may be cumulative, or it may be a one-off, and it is something that archives’ users may well mention to us, although this is a rare occurrence.

One very obvious example of vicarious trauma is when archives researchers may be looking at records about the way people were treated in the past. It can become very real, and very emotional, if you happen to be looking at records of your ancestors, and their treatment in the past, in whatever institution they were incarcerated. We all know, for example, that the individuals who participate in the TV programme “Who Do You Think You Are?” are frequently tearful, having unearthed stories of the hardships their ancestors experienced. This is not really what we would describe as vicarious trauma, but a common, human, reflection rooted in empathy.

Vicarious trauma really is something far more than this, and needs to be handled with skill and sensitivity. If this affects you, at any time, you can see some very useful FAQ’s we’ve written, on our website at: www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/archives/starting-your-research/what-can-i-see/vicarious-trauma-faq-s/