ABSTRACT
The terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 caused massive death and destruction, widespread trauma, and financial repercussions, and the malicious intent behind the unprecedented tragedy triggered lasting psychological effects. It resulted in the loss of many lives, and a profound disturbance in self-perceived safety nationwide. The authors found that therapists with a history of trauma experienced significantly more disruption of schema from their work than those without a personal trauma history. A history of negative life events was significantly associated with compassion fatigue, work burnout and secondary trauma. Clinicians must increase recognition of vicarious trauma (VT) and their own vulnerabilities and, together with administration and leadership of organizations, share the responsibility of preventing and mitigating VT in disaster mental health work. Conceptual and empirical validation of VT and the risk and resilience factors that have been identified is integral in addressing VT in disaster mental health work.
