Vicarious exposure to trauma and growth in therapists: The moderating effects of sense of coherence, organizational support, and empathy

Abstract

Therapists who work with traumatized individuals can experience psychological growth following this vicarious exposure to trauma. The purpose of the present study is to examine the variables that may moderate such vicarious posttraumatic growth. Therapists (N = 118) completed measures of vicarious exposure to trauma and growth, as well as empathy, sense of coherence, and perceived organizational support. Results showed that having a strong sense of coherence negatively predicted growth (β = -.28, p = .001), whereas empathy was a positive predictor (β = .37, p < .001). Empathy also moderated the exposure to growth relationship when growth involved relating to others (β = -.20; p = .018). Organizational support did not predict growth. The results have implications for the recruitment, training, and supervision of therapists working with individuals who have experienced trauma.

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