At last month’s Employee Wellbeing Forum we were joined by special guest, Penny Myerscough, National Manager – Learning and Wellbeing Culture, Centre for Corporate Health for a fascinating presentation and interactive discussion about Vicarious Trauma.
“When we engage empathetically, it does render us more vulnerable [to vicarious trauma],” explained Penny.
“Vicarious trauma is also often described as “the cost of caring” or “cost of high emotional work load” and accumulative in nature.
“Vicarious trauma is like your wellbeing being a little pebble…every exposure to distressing or emotionally challenging content is like a drip of water. Now, any one single drip – you’ll be ok. But over time, come the 100,000th drop – there will be a drop that cracks the pebble. It wasn’t that last drop that was entirely causal, it’s accumulative in nature.”
Penny’s presentation covered how we understand vicarious trauma, controls and protective factors, and wellbeing strategies for minimising the impact of vicarious trauma. If you missed it:
- View the recording of our Employee Wellbeing Forum on Vicarious Trauma
- Download Penny Myerscough’s Understanding Vicarious Trauma slide deck
Our Employee Wellbeing Forums are held monthly and cover a range of topics to support employees to prioritise their health and wellbeing.
The Forums provide practical discussions, resources, and information to empower employees to access support services and learn wellbeing strategies to implement into their daily routines.
For details about upcoming Employee Wellbeing Forums, access the Health & Wellbeing category in Upcoming events. You can also watch past Employee Wellbeing Forums, by visiting our past events page and search “wellbeing”.
If you are seeking more information about improving your mental health, check out the resources from our Employee Wellbeing Programs, including our Employee Assistance Program (EAP) provided by Converge International. The EAP aims to assist you in meeting any challenges or demands you may be facing in your work or personal life. For one-to-one support, book a consultation here. Employees can also access webinars and resources for free on the Converge International portal, including their monthly online magazine, Flourish. In April’s edition of Flourish, you can read about the importance of early mental health intervention and psychosocial risks.
Approved by Chris McLoughlin, Executive Director, People and Culture