ABSTRACT
In his research and work on compassion fatigue, or secondary traumatization of persons caring for victims of trauma, Figley (1995) noted that nearly all of the hundreds of reports focusing on traumatized people exclude those who were traumatized indirectly or secondarily, although the DSM-IV (American Psychiatric Association, 1994) clearly indicates that mere knowledge of another’s traumatic experience can be traumatizing. It would seem evident that mental health counselors listening to the experiences of disaster victims would clearly be at risk for this secondary traumatization. In his earlier work, Figley (1989) noted his dismay at seeing so many colleagues abandon clinical work and research with traumatized people because of their inability to deal with the pain of others. He noted that those most vulnerable to this contagion of trauma were those who “begin to view themselves as saviors, or at least as rescuers” (Figley, 1989, pp. 144–145) as is usually the case with workers who intervene in disaster.
