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Helpers are often in a hard situation . They must push themselves but also take care of themselves , which can be difficult to balance . They risk secondary trauma when they listen to survivors ’ experiences , particularly if they have been abused themselves or have experienced torture , threats or prolonged stress . Despite their efforts , they may at times struggle to deal with their emotions , have relationship problems , find it difficult to make decisions , experience physical pains or illness , feel hopeless , think their life has no meaning , or suffer a collapse in self-esteem . Early recognition and awareness are crucial to preventing burnout . Helpers need to develop strategies for coping that pre-empt secondary traumatisation . Sections 4.7 to 4.9 provide more information on what helpers can do to protect themselves and on what managers can do to protect volunteer and professional helpers that they manage .
At the same time , helpers would not do this work if it did not have positive effects . One of these is vicarious resilience . Many helpers feel that witnessing the extraordinary resilience of trauma survivors changes how they react and behave , not only at work , but as people – that it has helped them to handle their own sorrows and challenges .
4.5 Prevention of secondary trauma and compassion fatigue
“ All helpers who work closely with survivors should regularly step back to assess their emotional state and review whether they need to protect themselves from secondary traumatisation and compassion fatigue .”
Early recognition and awareness are essential to prevent helpers from suffering secondary traumatisation or compassion fatigue . Even large institutions sometimes fail to take care of their employees because managers are not adequately trained to detect and identify symptoms , are not ready to intervene early , or have poor follow-up procedures . These problems are particularly acute for helpers who work alone in small municipalities , lack access to larger networks , and have few resources and little support . All helpers who work closely with survivors should regularly step back to assess their emotional state and review whether they need to protect themselves from secondary traumatisation and compassion fatigue . Individuals must learn to foresee risk while they are still able to take control of their situation . Organisations should develop procedures and practices for detecting when helpers need extra support or a break , and make sure that helpers know they are entitled to ask for such support .
ROLE OF THE HELPER