From Risk to Opportunity: Mitigating Burnout from Vicarious Trauma

September 29 and October 6, 2022
1:00pm—3:30pm

Presented virtually via Zoom

Working with patients who have experienced trauma is exceptionally meaningful work. However, secondary stress and vicarious trauma is an occupational hazard for clinicians and the cumulative impact is a risk factor for burnout. Burnout among clinicians is at an all-time peak and can erode empathy, compassion, and self-compassion as well as threaten the sustainability of clinical practice. Mitigating burnout from vicarious trauma is both an external (organizational) and an internal (personal) responsibility. Reflections on how organizational supports can be implemented and leveraged as well as how clinicians can maximize their own internal healing process will be discussed. For example, learning how to activate the ‘tend-and-befriend’ response as well as how to complete the internal stress response can mitigate the impact of secondary stress and maximize professional fulfillment. Supporting research and applications of these concepts to clinical practice will be presented.

Presenter: Christine Runyan, PhD, ABPP, Professor in the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health at the University of Massachusetts Medical School

Learning Objectives:

1. Define secondary stress and vicarious trauma
2. Recognize the common symptoms and consequences of secondary stress among clinicians through self-assessment and discussion
3. Assess organizational risks and supports for mitigating burnout specifically regarding vicarious trauma and secondary stress for clinicians
4. Practice strategies for regulating the nervous system and mitigating vicarious trauma including the ‘tend-and-befriend’ process

Target Audience:

Behavioral Health Clinicians and Trainees, Physicians, Physicians in training, Physician Assistants and Trainees, Registered Nurses and Trainees, Advanced Practice Nurses and Trainees, Clinical Pharmacists, Allied Health Professionals and Trainees