Fostering vicarious resilience; the flip side of VT.

Vicarious resilience is a relatively new term used to describe the positive impact that observing resilience in others can have on an individual's own resilience.

Over the last 20 years there has been emerging research identifying that professionals who work with survivors of trauma have reported feeling inspired and motivated by their clients’ resilience, helping to counteract the negative effects of their work.

When workers are professionally engaged in a client or community’s recovery process following a trauma, although the trauma exposure have negative impacts; workers may also exposed to a strength, perseverance and determination.

Fundamentally, when someone witnesses another person overcoming adversity, it can inspire them to believe in their own ability to do the same.

So, how can vicarious resilience be fostered in an effort to reduce the negative impacts of the work?

“Vicarious resilience happens when we focus on the strengths of the people we help, take care of ourselves, and have access to effective support”

Organisations can explicitly encourage a focus on resilience by developing strategies which embed this within the team culture.

The role of clinical supervision is integral to facilitating conversations about the challenges and successes of the work, and promoting an awareness on resilience and strength.

Questions which may support a focus on resilience:

• Wow! How did [your client/you] manage to do that, despite everything that’s been going on?

• What has it taken to overcome this challenge do you think? Is there a particular skill, thought or value that has been driving you?

• What have you observed in [yourself/client/colleague] that you think supported them through this challenge?

• How has it been for you to witness [client] get through this recent challenge, despite how much they’ve been up against? Has it shifted what you think might be possible for yourself or others?

References

Hernandez, P., Gangsei, D., & Engstrom, D. (2007). Vicarious resilience: a new concept in work with those who survive trauma. Family Process, 46(2), 229-241. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1545-5300.2...

Killian, K., Hernandez-Wolfe, P., Engstrom, D., & Gangsei, D. (2017). Development of the vicarious resilience scale (VRS): A measure of positive effects of working with trauma survivors. Psychological Trauma, 9(1), 23-31. https://doi.org/10.1037/tra0000199

South Australia Department of Human Services. (2023) Trauma-Informed Workforce Management Resource. https://dhs.sa.gov.au/services/cfss/resources/practice-guides/trauma-informed-workforce-management-resource

Quote from: Victimology Research Centre. (2022). Vicarious Resilience. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNn29fjjUvg