DR ROSE FALZON

EAC MALTA CONFERENCEAPRIL 2014

Practitioners' Experience of Vicarious Helplessness when working with

Children and Adolescents

Helplessness in Practitioners

Usually in the practitioner world we discuss burnout and vicarious traumatization however from my practitioner and supervision work, I very often encountered practitioners experiencing vicarious helplessness.

Affects as witnesses and healers within our practitioner work

Helplessness in Practitioners

While exposure to traumatic narratives can affect all practitioners across therapeutic modalities and practices, practitioners working with children / adolescents may encounter more the narratives and witnessing of helplessness through the eyes of clients still in a phase where dependency on significant others is very present and autonomy in decisions and ways of living is limited.

Burnout orCompassion Fatigue

Burnout is a condition that begins gradually and becomes progressively worse.

Overextending our capacity to help and support others and reach the demands of the caseloads

How does one recognise burnout and its cumulative effects

Working through burnout

Vicarious Traumatization

A shift in the therapist’s world view and core beliefs as a result of primary or secondary exposure to traumatic imagery and empathic engagement with trauma victims/survivors.

The symptoms of vicarious traumatization

Working through Vicarious Traumatization

Vulnerability to Vicarious Helplessness

Child welfare staff have to deal with both direct and secondary exposure to trauma which may lead to vicariously feeling helpless.

When traumas impact children the helplessness experienced may be enhanced exponentially as children and adolescents are more defenceless and cannot act on their own accord.

Vulnerability to Vicarious Helplessness

Horowitz (2006) notes that “vicarious exposures to the events of clients’ lives are unavoidable for child welfare workers and may be more toxic because they more fully reflect workers’ lack of control and inability to adequately impact clients’ lives”.

These situations lead to vicarious helplessness: feeling consistently helpless and powerless to be effective in the unjust situations encountered and unable to control outcomes when working with vulnerable children and adolescents.

Small Group Exercise

Does working with this client group make the practitioner feel more helpless than when working with adults and why?

Have you ever felt vicarious helplessness and if yes what helped you to support yourself in these situations?

DISCUSSION

Neurological level of mirroring

Wegner et al (2004) supports the notion that the phenomenon of mirroring takes place on a neurological level.

Results form neuroscientists research

Hypothetical implication for practitioners in witnessing to clients’ traumatic experiences

Neurological level of mirroring

Helplessness can thus be one of these experiences felt on a deep level: neurologically, emotionally, physically, psychologically etc

In certain situations accepting our helplessness or powerlessness whilst remaining strong can be a real challenge.

Therefore, one of the first important starting points of beneficial awareness needs to be the realization that feelings of helplessness and hopelessness are part of the burden one has to bear as a practitioner and that one is not alone in experiencing them.

Recognising the Indicators that manifest Vicarious Helplessness

The practitioner and supervisor need to be sensitive and mindful to diverse indicators that may manifest Vicarious Helplessness such as:

Emotional IndicatorsPsychological IndicatorsPhysical IndicatorsPersonal life IndicatorsWorkplace Indicators

What might alleviate the feeling of vicarious helplessness

Organizational aspects

Personal aspects

Resilience

Self respect

Caring for yourself while helping others does not make you dependant, selfish incapable or needy. The care and support that helpers provide to their clients can only be as effective and beneficial as the care they provide themselves . You can only give from what you have.

“To keep the lamp burning we have to keep putting oil in it.”

Mother Theresa