Vicarious Trauma in Social Work: Why Training Can Help

Social workers play a vital role in supporting vulnerable individuals and communities, but this work often comes at a personal cost. Regularly hearing about trauma, abuse, and hardship can lead to vicarious trauma, impacting both professional and personal lives. Recognising this risk is essential for maintaining long-term well-being.

Vicarious trauma training equips social workers with strategies to manage their emotional responses and maintain professional boundaries. It also helps organisations create a supportive environment where staff feel valued and understood.

By investing in training, social work teams can improve their resilience and continue making a difference in the communities they serve.

Do you think you may be struggling with vicarious trauma? Here are some early symptoms to look out for:

• anger, rage and sadness about the patient’s victimisation

• experiencing bystander guilt

• self-doubt

• difficulty in maintaining boundaries, e.g. becoming overly involved with a patient

• rumination or pre-occupation with thoughts of the patient/stressor

• cynicism or loss of hope

• distancing

• staying busy, numbing or distancing yourself

At HeartWell, we offer tailored Vicarious Trauma Training for Social Workers designed to help community workers all around Australia recognise and manage the effects of secondary trauma.

We offer practical tools and resources to help social workers thrive in their roles. Learn more about our training programs here.

HeartWell offers mental health corporate training programs delivered online or onsite to businesses all over Australia.

Do you think your team could benefit from our training programs? Get in touch with our team for more information or an obligation-free quotation.