Recap of our vicarious trauma webinar: key takeaways and insights
>> If you would like to know more about vicarious trauma then come along to our vicarious trauma online training on 2 October, starting at noon.
On 5 September 2024 we held our 'Let's talk about vicarious trauma' webinar. A big thank you to the panel (Mary Jackson, Gillian Bishop and Sarah Le Fevre, and Nick O’ Neill) for openly sharing their personal experiences and insights about vicarious trauma; from working on high-profile inquests like Grenfell and COVID, to navigating the complexities of family law.
Here are the key takeaways from the webinar
Vicarious trauma is the cumulative emotional, mental, and physical stress that comes from regularly witnessing others' difficult experiences. It impacts people emotionally, behaviourally, cognitively, physically, and spiritually.
Emotional signs include irritability; behavioural signs like changes in eating and drinking patterns; cognitive symptoms such as cynicism; physical effects similar to burnout; and spiritual symptoms like loss of faith or purpose.
- Vicarious trauma can result from working on a specific case or can build up over time from hearing about trauma and upset every day. Recognising the symptoms of vicarious trauma is essential, along with knowing where to find support if needed. Sarah's work on the Grenfell Tower Inquiry led to intrusive dreams, but trauma support from the London Fire Brigade helped her manage it. Gillian, with over 30 years in family law, experienced cumulative vicarious trauma and burnout, but gained awareness through supervision.
- The impact of vicarious trauma: Without proper coping mechanisms, vicarious trauma can cause emotional numbness and disillusionment, eroding passion for one's job and affecting overall wellbeing. Balancing empathy with wellbeing is an ongoing challenge.
- Listen to the people who know you best (at work and home) as they may notice changes in you that you might not see yourself.
- Coping with vicarious trauma: Support from colleagues, formal diagnoses (such as PTSD), and tools like mindfulness, reframing, and supervision are critical in managing the emotional toll of vicarious trauma.
- Supervision needs to be standard practice in all firms and chambers: Gillian implemented firm-wide supervision, with the firm covering costs.
- Trauma-informed policies: Mary emphasised the importance of safety in trauma-informed practices. Employers must provide tailored policies and proactive training to support staff and help prevent vicarious trauma.
- More training is needed from the start: Gillian advocates for essential interpersonal skills training (formerly considered "soft skills") to be included in legal education. This includes teaching lawyers how to manage relationships, set boundaries, and maintain objectivity.
- The legal sector lags in addressing vicarious trauma. Leaders, professional bodies, and regulators must support trauma-informed practices to mitigate risks. Emphasising financial and practical benefits, like reducing negligence claims and improving retention, can help gain their support
- Mental health, competency, and resilience: Addressing mental health issues in the legal profession improves competency, client satisfaction, and overall productivity. Younger lawyers may struggle to speak up due to fear, while older lawyers may avoid showing vulnerability. However, lawyers can also experience "vicarious resilience" by building strength through their experiences.
Want more detail? Then read on.
“The leadership of the Fire Brigade said to me back then in June 2017 - 'you will find this [Grenfell inquiry] hard, if and when you do [need help] use the Fire Brigade counselling and trauma services'… It was visionary I thought on their part. It wasn't called vicarious trauma, it was just called impact and potential negative effect. But they planted that seed way back then that I might need assistance and how to get it when I did.”
Definition of vicarious trauma:
- (Mary) - Trauma is a word we hear a lot, but vicarious trauma refers to the build-up of emotional, physical, and mental stress that comes from being exposed to other people’s difficult and painful experiences.
- (Mary) - It manifests across five areas: emotional, behavioural, cognitive, physical, and spiritual/philosophical.
Signs and symptoms:
- Emotional: Increased irritability.
- Behavioural: Changes in eating or drinking patterns. Gillian highlighted that coping mechanisms, like joking about excessive drinking, may indicate underlying issues.
- Cognitive: Cynicism or loss of a sense of safety.
- Physical: Symptoms similar to burnout, such as headaches, nausea, and sweats.
- Philosophical/Spiritual: Loss of faith in humanity, hope, or purpose.
- Sarah’s experience:
- Her work on the Grenfell Tower Inquiry exposed her to intense trauma, which began to affect her personal life.
- She experienced vivid, intrusive dreams related to the traumatic imagery from her cases.
- Sarah praised the London Fire Brigade for their foresight in encouraging her to seek trauma support. Their guidance helped her recognise the impact of the trauma she was experiencing, which was crucial in allowing her to continue her legal work.
- Gillian’s experience:
- Over 30 years of hearing about others’ traumas in family law slowly took a toll on her emotional and mental wellbeing.
- She described her experience as becoming increasingly depressed, irritable, and tearful over time.
- Gillian realised her burnout through supervision, where her supervisor pointed out the emotional toll the work was taking on her.
“I think that vicarious trauma in family law can occur very slowly and over the course of a number of years, in my case over 30 years of day by day hearing everybody’s trauma, everybody's upset, everybody's broken marriage, everybody's difficulties with negotiating shared parenting and things like that. Over time it takes its toll.”
The impact of vicarious trauma:
- It can lead to emotional numbness and disillusionment.
- Without proper coping mechanisms and awareness, the cumulative effect of trauma exposure can erode passion for the job.
Coping:
- Mary emphasised the importance of listening to those around you, who may notice changes in your behaviour, such as a loss of humour or social withdrawal.
- Sometimes, it takes others -either in the workplace or personal life - to help someone recognise they are experiencing vicarious trauma.
- Sarah:
- Formal diagnosis: Receiving a PTSD diagnosis provided clarity and validation for her emotional struggles.
- Reframing and mindfulness: Equipped by her counsellor to re-prioritise personal and professional values, find perspective, and use mindfulness practices when in nature.
- Openness and communication: The value of open dialogue with her counsellor to acknowledge the issue and cope with it.
- Training and support for Junior Lawyers: Sarah emphasised the importance of early training in coping strategies for younger legal professionals, promoting openness in handling trauma.
- Retaining sensitivity: Sarah emphasises the challenge in balancing professional detachment with maintaining sensitivity and passion for the work.
- Gillian’s - supervision as prevention:
- Firm-wide supervision: Initiated regular supervision for all employees in her firm, with the firm covering costs. She believes this has prevented burnout and turnover.
- Training supervisors: Gillian has collaborated with a psychotherapist to train nearly 40 family law professionals in supervision. Gillian argued that all legal fields - employment law, immigration, criminal law - benefit from supervision due to the emotional toll of regular exposure to human suffering.
- Economic benefits: Highlights studies showing that for every £1 spent on supervision and wellbeing support, there is a £7.20 return, emphasising the financial incentive for firms to invest in employee mental health.
- Mary’s perspective on trauma-informed policies:
- Importance of safety: Trauma-informed practices must begin with ensuring the safety of both employees and clients.
- Custom policies: Each law firm or Chambers should write its own policies tailored to their specific culture, rather than adopting a generic policy.
- Employers responsibilities :Employers have a duty to anticipate the risk of vicarious trauma and support their staff by providing proactive training, coping tools, and appropriate resources before they face it.
- Further reading : Joanna Fleck and Rachel Francis's book INSERT TITLE is recommended for reflective practices and debriefing methods that can be implemented in legal firms.
Better training:
- (Gillian) - Training on essential interpersonal skills (formerly called "soft skills") should start in legal education and training.
- (Gillian) - People working in law should be taught how to manage relationships, including setting boundaries and maintaining objectivity with clients.
- (Gillian) - Practical skills: Learning to listen effectively, ask the right questions, and recognise emotional boundaries will improve job performance and client satisfaction.
- (Gillian) - Effective training in these areas can lead to fewer complaints, improved wellbeing, and overall better client outcomes.
"Law is absolutely at the heart of every relationship we have - with our parents, our friends, our partners, our children, our teachers, everybody, in every walk of life, law is that the absolute heart of those relationships. And yet we are taught nothing about relationships at any stage in our career unless we seek it out… it's staggering really isn't it?”
Engaging leaders:
- (Gillian) - For widespread adoption of trauma-informed practices, leaders in the legal profession need to understand and support these initiatives.
- (Gillian) - Emphasised the benefits of supervision - such as reducing negligence claims, improving retention, and preventing burnout - can help persuade those hesitant to adopt these practices.
Mental health and competency:
- Addressing mental health directly impacts lawyers' ability to deliver competent legal services, meet client expectations, and maintain productivity.
- There is a need for collective recognition and action from regulatory and professional bodies to address trauma and vicarious trauma in the legal profession.
- While trauma cannot be entirely prevented, better training and support can help mitigate the risks of vicarious trauma.
Challenges for junior and senior legal professionals:
- Younger lawyers may be less likely to discuss their mental health issues out of fear of being perceived as weak or incapable, especially if they lack psychological safety in their firms.
- Older lawyers, especially those over 60, may be less likely to admit vulnerability, preferring to "put on a brave face."
- Generational differences: Younger lawyers are more familiar with concepts like counselling, but still face challenges in openly discussing mental health.
To conclude…
To finish with something positive. We experience vicarious trauma because we are empathetic human beings and we seek connection with our clients, with the people that were trying to help.
We can also develop "vicarious resilience", where we build resilience through experiences and continue to persevere our work.
We're here to listen...without judgement