Empathy in the Treatment of Trauma and PTSD (Series in Psychosocial Stress)

empathy In The Treatment Of Trauma And Ptsd Examines How Professionals Are Psychologically Impacted By Their Work With Trauma Clients. A National Research Study Provides Empirical Evidence, Documenting The Struggle For Professionals To Maintain Therapeutic Equilibrium And Empathic Attunement With Their Trauma Clients. Among The Many Important Findings Of This Study, All Participants Reported Being Emotionally And Psychologically Affected By The Work, Often Quite Profoundly Leading To Changes In Worldview, Beliefs About The Nature Of Humankind And The Meaning Of Life. john P. Wilson And Rhiannon Thomas Set Out To Understand How To Heal Those Who Experience Empathic Strain In The Course Of Their Professional Specialization. The Data Included In The Book Allows For The Development Of Conceptual Dynamic Models Of Effective Management Of Empathic Strain, Which May Cause Vicarious Traumatization, Burnout And Serious Countertransference Processes. It is well established that survivors of trauma bring to the treatment setting an emotional intensity and level of distress that touch, surpass and transform the empathic sensitivity of clinicians who listen to their stories. Empathic strain experienced by clinicians poses a potential threat to treatment outcome by truncating and distorting understanding of clients' intrapsychic dynamics. It is widely agreed in the field of traumatology that empirical inquiries into the nature and extent of the impact of trauma work upon mental health professionals, as well as identification, understanding and successful management of reactive styles is vitally needed. Yet, with respect specifically to posttraumatic therapy, few empirical studies exist concerning the prevalence, nature and dynamics of the mental health professional's countertransference and empathic stress reactions caused by exposure to traumatized clients and to the content of traumatic case material by virtue of the professional relationship. "Empathy in the Treatment of Trauma and PTSD" examines how professionals are psychologically impacted by their work with trauma clients. A national research study provides empirical evidence, documenting the struggle for professionals to maintain therapeutic equilibrium and empathic attunement with their trauma clients. Among the many important findings of this study, all participants reported being emotionally and psychologically affected by the work, often quite profoundly leading to changes in worldview, beliefs about the nature of humankind and the meaning of life. John P. Wilson and Rhiannon Thomas set out to understand how to heal those who experience empathic strain in thecourse of their professional specialization. The data included in the book allows for the development of conceptual dynamic models of effective management of empathic strain, which may cause vicarious traumatization, burnout and serious countertransference processes. Survivors Of Trauma Bring To Their Treatment Setting An Emotional Intensity And A Level Of Distress That Can Put Considerable Strain Upon A Clinician's Empathic Sensitivity. But While The Profession Has Long Been Aware Of The Risks That Trauma Work Poses To Clinicians (and By Extension To Their Clients And The Therapeutic Relationship Itself), Until Now There Have Been Few Empirical Studies On The Prevalence, Nature, And Dynamics Of Countertransference And Empathic Stress Reactions That Result From Working With Traumatised Clients. It Is The Purpose Of This Book To Examine The Ways In Which Mental Health Professionals Are Impacted By Their Work With Survivors Of Trauma. A National Research Study Forms The Basis Of The Text And Documents The Different Ways In Which Clinicians Struggle To Maintain Therapeutic Equilibrium And Empathic Attunement During Clinical Work With Trauma Clients. Among The Many Important Findings Of This Study Is The Fact That All Participants Reported Being Emotionally And Psychologically Affected By Their Work, Often To The Point Of Changing Their Notions About Human Nature And The Meaning Of Life. One Of The Major Purposes Of This Book, Therefore, Is To Suggest Ways In Which Clinicians Can Manage Their Empathic Strain Without Falling Victim To Vicarious Traumatisation, Burnout, And Serious Countertransference Processes Which May, In Turn, Undermine Their Clients' Treatment Processes. It is well established that survivors of trauma bring to the treatment setting an emotional intensity and level of distress that touch, surpass and transform the empathic sensitivity of clinicians who listen to their stories. Empathic strain experienced by clinicians pose a potential threat to treatment overcome by truncating and distorting understanding of clients' intrapsychic dynamics. This book examines how professionals are psychologically impacted by their work with trauma clients. A national research study provides empirical evidence, documenting the struggle for professionals to maintain therapeutic equilibrium and empathic attunement with their trauma clients. (Midwest) The transmitting unconscious of traumatization The matrix of empathy Structure and dynamics of interpersonal processes in treatment of PTSD A model of empathy in trauma work The balance beam : modes of empathic attunement and empathic strain in post-traumatic therapy Empathic rupture and affect dysregulation : countertransference in the treatment of PTSD Anxiety and defensiveness in the trauma therapist Empathy and traumatoid states Therapist reactions in post-traumatic therapy : a study of empathic strain in trauma work Understanding the nature of traumatoid states The positive therapeutic effects of empathic attunement and the transformation of trauma "This book examines the ways in which professionals are psychologically impacted by their work with trauma clients and how this empathic strain can, in turn, pose a threat to treatment outcomes. The first of its kind, this text vastly expands the potential of this field by providing both a new instrument for assessing therapists' reactions to trauma treatment and new empirical data drawn from an unprecedented national survey of how therapists' emotional reactions affect both the client and the therapist."--Jacket