VICARIOUS TRAUMA - THE EFFECTS ON FEMALE COUNSELORS OF WORKING WITH SEXUAL VIOLENCE SURVIVORS

The primary purpose of this study was to assess the effects on counsel ors of working with sexual violence survivors. Members of a women psyc hologists' organization and a group of sexual violence counselors comp leted questionnaires regarding the extent of their work with survivors and their psychological functioning. Counselors who had a higher perc entage of survivors in their caseload reported more disrupted beliefs, (particularly about the goodness of other people), more symptoms of p ost-traumatic stress disorder, and more self-reported vicarious trauma . Symptomatology was not related to counselors' own history of victimi zation. Qualitative data regarding difficult and enjoyable aspects of working with survivors also were gathered, along with data on the stra tegies used by counselors to cope with work-related stress. Implicatio ns for counselor training are discussed.