Acknowledging the Power of Hope through Vicarious Resilience
Thanks to inspiration from Dr. Vanessa Rodriguez during our San Diego Trauma-Informed Guide team meeting, I am now weaving vicarious resilience through all of my work. As a TREC Pioneer, inner-city community organizer, and leader for twenty-six years, the vicarious resilience research studies exemplify the positive effects we helping professionals receive from working with individuals who have or are enduring trauma. This gives me great hope.
“Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all the darkness.”
— Desmond Tutu
Trauma therapist Jenny Hughes describes vicarious resilience in this way: "... when we finish the first pass of a trauma memory, and I look at my client with tears in my eyes, marveling at their strength and tenacity...[it] is what fills my tank and keeps me going."Jenny's poignant response to her client's reserve in working through their trauma provides profound hope for helping professionals and the individuals we serve.
Reflecting on the aspects of vicarious resilience through the lens of so many children, youth, and families I have mentored, I now have a deeper understanding of how I have benefitted. Harnessing its positive power can provide another tool to help bolster our resilience. As new research comes to light on this and other aspects of trauma resilience, we will share it with you in this newsletter, on our website, and through our social media platforms. If you haven't already done so, please click the links at the bottom of this page to follow us. We look forward to sharing with you!
Warm regards,
Dana
Learn more about the positive correlation with post-traumatic growth and compassion satisfaction in Dana's recent blog post:
The Professional Well-Being Scale is a self-reflective tool designed to assess compassion satisfaction and potential compassion fatigue among individuals working in helping professions. Its goal is to provide individuals in helping professions with valuable insights into their emotional states and facilitate a deeper understanding of their professional well-being.
The questionnaire takes about 4 minutes to complete. You'll be provided with your score and scoring breakdown at the end, with additional resources to provide strategies and techniques you can apply immediately to improve your professional well-being.
