Introduction
Clients in the social sector exhibit different behaviors due to histories of trauma they experience at different stages in their lives. Therefore, social work professionals are expected to offer maximum support to clients suffering from trauma. They are supposed to be keen while exploring clients’ histories of mental health and behavioral concerns. Further, these professionals are expected to converse with patients about causative agents for their trauma and the resultant behaviors they exhibit. Some of the behaviors are attributed to injustices and acts of violence they have faced in their past. However, some situations pose challenges for social workers, unlike the vast community. It becomes barely easy for social workers to handle individuals with a history of trauma from abuse. Thus, these experiences have gradually become a question of public interest that develop emotional tolls on social workers. This paper will illustrate a critical self-reflection that will identify my potential for bias, vicarious trauma risks, and self-care plans.
Biases, Triggers, and Countertransference
Biases are an area in the social work profession that is complex to manage. Codes of ethics in social work are mandated to investigate bias between clients and workers. Bias can arise due to differences in personal values. Clients’ different personal values become a drawback for service delivery by social workers (Schnyder et al., 2016). Therefore, it is usually difficult for me to consult with other professionals because codes of ethics call for client confidentiality to make decisions that comply with the law. Triggers and countertransference are problems I face in practice when dealing with clients with trauma histories. Countertransference occurs when the client under treatment triggers problems of defiance to services. Thus, I feel the defiance like the client’s parent would have felt.
Vicarious Trauma and Burnout
Employees and practitioners in the social sector are less immune to their trauma. Individuals’ history of trauma is significant to be stimulated by traumas they undergo in their work practice. For instance, many social workers with histories of sexual assault tend to experience vicarious trauma when they are presented with clients who need counseling on sexual assault (van der Feltz-Cornelis et al., 2019). Often, social workers experience vicarious trauma and burnout through experiencing nightmares that result from the client’s history. These professionals also tend to have increased trauma symptoms like anxiety and flashbacks. They are often unwilling to support clients since they feel overwhelmed, exhausted, or burned out (Pearlman & McKay, 2008). Social workers tend to find difficulties in getting interested in their work. As a result, they end up developing anger issues with their clients. Therefore, social workers experiencing vicarious trauma and burnout are likely to make invalid assumptions about clients’ behavior because they project their desires and histories to the client.
I might be more vulnerable to vicarious trauma and burnout due to my childhood history of abuse by classmates. Many clients who come for counseling have a similar history of abuses that triggered what I faced as a child. Listening and giving counseling to these clients affect my productivity level at work. I easily get angry and bored giving counseling to clients at the moment when I recall trauma during my childhood. Thus, my vulnerability is developed due to constant nightmares in my social work practice.
Plan for Self Care
Burnout is a common challenge that professionals face in social work provision. However, this problem is subject to human measure and control. Preventing burnout among social workers enhances their emotional and physical health (Pearlman & McKay, 2008). Thus, numerous ways can prevent burnout. These preventive ways include eating well, personal organization, staying social, and leading an active life (Pearlman & McKay, 2008). Staying social ensures that social workers who experience burnout find someone they can share their experience to relieve emotional pent-ups. Staying active among social workers prevents burnout by giving them time to do workouts and exercises. Regular exercise is significant to stabilize moods after being exhausted and reduce anxiety. Further, it will help to prevent nightmares by creating a restful sleep for social workers with busy schedules.
Individuals who experience burnout due to their experience in the social work profession should maintain a healthy diet. Eating well is significant in preventing burnout among social workers as it recommends for nutritious diet (Pearlman & McKay, 2008). A healthy diet increases energy and eliminates anxiety and fatigue experienced by social workers. The organization is key in reducing stress for any social worker. Having an organized task load helps to eliminate the aspect of stress levels for social workers who have busy workspaces. Thus, adherence to these preventive ways helps to reduce burnout among social work professionals.
Conclusion
In general, social workers encounter clients who share their personal trauma history in their field of practice. The mental health of social workers becomes at risk as they listen to clients’ traumatic and vicarious histories. For this reason, social workers face hard times handling clients with similar trauma histories. Most social workers get confined to ethical codes of conduct, resulting in client-worker problems. For instance, countertransference triggers tend to transfer the client’s defiance to the therapist. Further, social workers experience vicarious trauma and burnout in different ways that affect their emotional health. Professionals in the social work provision and students have nightmares after listening to their clients’ histories. They also feel tired and exhausted at work. Thus, many professionals in social work would likely make inappropriate assumptions that dismiss the reasons behind clients’ behavior. Fortunately, social workers have a haven because preventive ways have been formulated to prevent burnout. For instance, social workers can prevent burnout by eating well, enhancing personal organization, staying social, and leading an active life.
References
Pearlman, L., & McKay, L (2008). Understanding and addressing vicarious trauma. Headington Institute.
Schnyder, U., Bryant, R. A., Ehlers, A., Foa, E. B., Hasan, A., Mwiti, G., Kristensen, C. H., Neuner, F., Oe, M., Yule, W. (2016). Culture-sensitive psychotraumatology. European Journal of Psychotraumatology, 7, 31179.
van der Feltz-Cornelis, C. M., Potters, E. C., van Dam, A., Koorndijk, R. P. M., Elfeddali, I., & van Eck van der Sluijs, J. F. (2019). Adverse childhood experiences (ACE) in outpatients with anxiety and depressive disorders and their association with psychiatric and somatic comorbidity and revictimization. Cross-sectional observational study. Journal of Affective Disorders, 246, 458-464.