Topic 3 Impact of Vicarious Trauma on Educators

Lack of trauma specific training for educators and school administrators is a contributory factor to VT and Burnout. By not having awareness of VT in the first instance, this means that symptoms are unknown and ignored. Therefore, any wellness mechanisms and supports may not be accessed or utilised, purely because they are unaware that there is a mental health issue to deal with.

As mental health professionals are aware of VT, there risk is lowered as even though their exposure to trauma is drastically higher than an educators, they know the signs and can act quickly to deal with it.

Teachers with high levels of stress and burnout also declared physical and mental health issues as well as lower job satisfaction. (Herman et al., 2018).

Because there are significantly more children presenting with new or exacerbated mental health illnesses due to the Covid-19 pandemic, this means that teachers risk of VT also increases. Additional stressors of having to ‘catch-up’ on lost time, addressing gaps in education and dealing with the lack of or decreased levels of social skills of students, all contribute further to stress and burnout.

The knock-on effect of the above, can be losing interest in the job and increased absenteeism, ultimately impacting negatively on the learners education overall from quality to meeting curricular targets for the teacher and the school.

It’s logical therefore, for education facilities to ensure that staff receive sufficient training to raise awareness of VT as not only will it support good mental health, but a positive learning environment

Creating awareness of VT is the first step to establishing resilience methods and are crucial to avoiding and reducing the risk of VT, which should also be facilitated by employers. This can range from unrelated activities or hobbies outside of work to taking a break from work for a period or leaving your job.