NCJ Number
254505
Date Published
January 2020
Length
1 page
Annotation
This special release episode of the National Institute of Justice's (NIJ's) Just Science podcast series is an interview with Amy Jeanguenat and Andrew Levin, two experts in the field of workforce resiliency, who discuss the impact of vicarious trauma on forensic scientists, analysts, and first responders.
Abstract
The interview first addresses the nature of work-related trauma. Forensic scientists and first responders are noted to be regularly exposed to people's suffering, death, and tragedies. Over time, such exposure can cause vicarious trauma, which is a psychological response of anxiety and stress due to identification with another person's suffering, mourning, and stress. The concept of resiliency is discussed as pertaining to a person's development of coping mechanisms that relieve the effects of vicarious trauma and potential burnout in the performance of stressful job duties. Levin and Jeanguenat discuss the importance of worker's being aware of the symptoms of vicarious trauma that stem from work activities. In addition, personnel must be trained in ways to cope constructively with their vicarious trauma so that it is not sustained over time to become a threat to mental health and job satisfaction.
Date Published: January 1, 2020