Self-care for psychotherapists in training: Development and evaluation of a psycho-educational workshop on managing vicarious trauma.

摘要

The purpose of this dissertation was to develop and evaluate a workshop for reducing vicarious trauma and increasing self-care practices for new psychotherapists in training. Twenty participants enrolled in psychology doctoral programs in the Bay Area participated in a 2-hour workshop, designed and conducted by this author, with a follow-up individual interview two weeks later. It was hypothesized that after attending the workshop, participants would gain a better understanding of vicarious trauma and its effects. It was also hypothesized that after attending the workshop, participants' self-care practices would increase, thereby reducing their symptoms of vicarious trauma.;Pre-test and post-test quizzes were administered to the participants before and after the workshop. Three self-report measures (Self care assessment worksheet, STSS [Secondary Trauma Stress Scale], and TSC-40 [Trauma Symptom Checklist-40]) were administered to the participants before the workshop and 2 weeks later during the follow-up meeting. Participants completed the Workshop Evaluation Survey after the workshop and were asked structured interview questions related to self-care practices during the follow-up meeting. Dependent samples t-tests were calculated to determine whether symptoms of vicarious trauma were reduced and if participants utilized self-care. A trend toward significant reductions in vicarious trauma symptoms and increases in self-care were found between pre-test and post-test measures. Results were partially consistent for the self-care evaluation worksheet and STSS, however they were non-significant for TSC-40. Qualitative thematic analysis revealed themes that further explored participants' utilization of the self-care workshop and their experience of vicarious trauma. Implications for training and education of psychotherapists-in-training, limitations, and considerations for future research are discussed.