ABSTRACT
This chapter will explore how group therapy provides a successful and therapeutic stress reduction experience for therapists who are working with the severely abused patient. Even the most experienced clinicians become emotionally fatigued processing the life-traumas of their clients, a process which is an inescapable part of the therapeutic procedure. As a result, many therapists experience excessive distress, secondary post-traumatic stress syndrome. Attending to this condition is of primary importance if the therapist is to continue to provide optimum care for the client (Guy, 1987). Williams (1996) observes: “Working with traumatized individuals can challenge the therapist’s belief system of safety, trust, power, esteem, and intimacy. Therefore, it is important to have a support network available to use to talk over cases and process secondary trauma in the therapist” (p. 159).
