The Effect of Trauma Work on Clinicians in Washington
By Ashley Charbonneau
For clinicians in Washington, when we talk about trauma work we tend to focus on clients: their stories, their healing, and their resilience. But there’s another layer that deserves just as much attention. The impact this work has on us as clinicians.
This work affects us. Maybe not with every client. Maybe not every single day. But over time, it shapes how we view the world, shift how we feel in our own bodies, and influence how we see people, relationships, and even ourselves.In this blog we will explore some of the ways trauma work shows up in us through countertransference, vicarious trauma, secondary traumatic stress, compassion fatigue, and burnout.
Countertransference in Trauma Work for Therapists
Countertransference, or our responses to clients, are inevitable. We will have reactions, but we need to be aware of our triggers, our biases, and our emotional shifts. When we have strong reactions to clients, we need to pause, reflect, and refocus. This might look like:
- Feeling overly protective or wanting to rescue a client
- Strong emotional responses such as dread, anxiety, pessimism, anger, shame, grief
- Being too rigid or too flexible with boundaries and expectations
Vicarious Trauma in Therapists Working with Trauma
Vicarious trauma is the cumulative effect of bearing witness to our clients’ pain. Over time, we continue to absorb traumatic material. I’ve heard some incredibly dark things, from working with both victims and offenders. Many of us can name cases that have stayed with us. This reminds us that we are human, but sometimes it becomes too much. This might look like:
- A newfound belief that the world is unsafe, increased fear for safety, or other marked changes in what we believe about others
- Difficulty trusting others
- Increase in pessimism
Secondary Traumatic Stress in Mental Health Clinicians
Secondary traumatic stress refers to the emotional and behavioral responses we experience due to exposure to someone else’s trauma. These responses often mirror symptoms of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), including intrusion symptoms, avoidance, changes in mood or thinking patterns, and changes in startle responses. With clients, this might look like:
- Intrusive thoughts or images related to a client’s trauma
- Avoiding certain topics or interventions, especially when this is already part of the client’s treatment plan
- Strong feelings during sessions
- Difficulty sleeping because of client work
Compassion Fatigue in Therapists
Compassion fatigue is the gradual erosion of empathy. This doesn’t mean we don’t care. In fact, arguable, most of us care a whole awful lot. This means we’ve cared deeply for a long time, and we are tired. This might look like:
- “I can’t care anymore.”
- “I don’t have the energy to show up for this client.”
- “I don’t have empathy right now.”
Therapist Burnout in Washington: Why It Happens
Burnout stems from chronic workplace stress. It most often shows up as: emotional exhaustion, cynicism, and reduced sense of effectiveness at work. This might look like:
- Feeling drained before even getting to work or ongoing inability to rest/rejuvenate
- Questioning whether you make a difference or believing what you do doesn’t matter
- Feeling disconnected from clients, the work, or the field as a whole
Burnout is usually framed as an individual weakness, when someone tells us, “You seem burned out,” the question itself feels like it’s your responsibility to admit to or fix, regardless of the intention behind it. But in reality burnout is rarely just about the individual. It’s often about systems that require us to have high caseloads or pressure us to hit key performance indicators. It’s when we don’t have adequate resources to do our work and are constantly exposed to trauma in a world that offers very little space or time to integrate it.
What Do We Do?
We don’t always immediately recognize what’s happening. We might just think we’re tired, impatient, or “off.” We promise ourselves we will prepare for clients “better” and lean into self-care “better.” But our nervous system may be responding to repeated exposure to trauma narratives. The body keeps score, even when the trauma isn’t ours. Managing our dysregulation is important to ensure our work focuses on the client, and that therapy does not become about us.
We can’t fully prevent the impact that the mental health field – and trauma work specifically – has on us. We can try to mitigate some of the impacts of trauma work and manage these impacts in healthy ways through supervision, consultation, connection, boundaries, and work-life balance. Sometimes, we need to do our own therapeutic work. Sometimes, we need to change how we work by adjusting caseloads, shifting our practice towards a new population, or pivoting more seriously.
The work you do is meaningful, and we want to help you attend to your own body, mind, and spirit so you can continue to do the work that matters.
How We Can Help
If you’re a therapist in Washington looking for support through supervision or consultation then look no further! If you are provisionally licensed, Firelight Supervision has many clinical supervisors licensed in Washington who can support you through individual and group supervision. We also have many other clinical supervisors with vast experience and specialties who can support you through individual or group consultation. Schedule a free 20-minute phone consultation today to find the right fit for you!
Author Bio
Ashley Charbonneau is a licensed clinical social worker, approved clinical supervisor, and blogger with Firelight Supervision. Ashley supports early-career and experienced therapists in building confidence, navigating clinical challenges, and growing their unique voice as clinicians. She specializes in trauma, addictions, clinical assessment, and supervision that’s rooted in authenticity and ethical care. Follow Firelight Supervision on Instagram and Facebook.
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