Self-Care and Vicarious Trauma for Peer Workers Flashcards

What is 'vicarious trauma' in the context of peer support work?

Answer: The cumulative emotional impact of repeatedly hearing about and witnessing others' trauma

Vicarious trauma (also called secondary traumatic stress) occurs when a helper is indirectly impacted by continual exposure to others' traumatic experiences. It can affect the helper's worldview, emotional health, and ability to function — even without direct trauma exposure.

A CRSS with lived experience of addiction begins experiencing strong cravings after extensively supporting a peer through a relapse. This is BEST described as:

Answer: A secondary traumatic stress reaction triggered by shared lived experience

When a CRSS's own lived experience makes them vulnerable to being triggered by a peer's experiences — such as experiencing cravings when a peer relapses — this is a secondary traumatic stress reaction. Peer specialists are uniquely susceptible because of their shared history.

Which of the following is the MOST effective self-care strategy for a CRSS who has personal lived experience with the challenges their peers face?

Answer: Maintaining an active personal recovery program and seeking regular clinical supervision

CRSS workers must actively protect their own recovery while supporting others. Maintaining a personal recovery program and using supervision as a reflective space are the most effective strategies for preventing burnout and secondary trauma.

The PRIMARY reason self-care is considered a professional responsibility for a CRSS — not just a personal choice — is that:

Answer: A CRSS cannot effectively support others if their own wellbeing is compromised

Self-care is a professional responsibility because a CRSS's effectiveness depends directly on their own wellbeing. A peer specialist who is depleted, triggered, or in personal crisis cannot model recovery or provide meaningful support to others.

A CRSS realizes they have been canceling personal therapy appointments and skipping their own recovery meetings due to work demands. The BEST first step is to:

Answer: Bring the issue to supervision and create a concrete plan to restore personal recovery activities

Bringing the issue to a supervisor allows the CRSS to receive professional support in addressing the imbalance. Supervision is a key resource for maintaining sustainable boundaries, protecting personal recovery, and ensuring quality peer support.

'Compassion fatigue' differs from general burnout in that it:

Answer: Involves both emotional exhaustion from caring work and secondary traumatic stress from exposure to others' pain

Compassion fatigue is a specific state that combines burnout elements (emotional exhaustion from overgiving) with secondary traumatic stress (being affected by absorbing others' trauma). General burnout is typically driven by workload and organizational factors without the secondary trauma component.