Secondary Trauma Support in Poland
The difference between STS (Secondary traumatic stress) and PTSD (Post-traumatic stress disorder) is that STS occurs after indirect exposure to threatening events (e.g., hearing clients’ stories, delivering bad news to clients, observing intense emotions in others). In contrast, PTSD occurs due to a perceived direct threat to an individual. Like PTSD, STS can be challenging to recognise and manage without help.
Symptoms of STS include hypervigilance, avoidance, re-experiencing and change in mood. STS can also include guilt, anger, problems sleeping, challenges with concentration, exhaustion and an impaired immune system.
At Fundacja Herstory, we organise workshops for organisations that deal with this relatively new phenomenon. We ensure that these organisations are educated on the existence of this type of stress and how to address such symptoms holistically among their workers. We are talking about organisations dealing with refugees, people who endure a lot of violence, people without papers and discriminated individuals. Much of the methodology we are using during these workshops is derived from one of our hosting organisations, the Ulex Project (https://ulexproject.org/overview/), which is part of the Erasmus+ accreditation project. They offer a holistic approach to well-being, ensuring that issues are addressed on a personal, organisational, and community-wide level. Offering this approach changes the way we function and perceive ourselves as part of civil society, inspiring our beneficiaries to understand the deeper, underlying issues of STS. In the trainings, we look at these topics:
Balancing Action-Reflection
Taking a systems approach
Exploring interventions at 3 levels: Personal, interpersonal, and collective
3 keys to personal empowerment
Sharing methods of working at he intrapersonal level
Working with views, beliefs and identity
Creating a culture of resilience
Developing approaches to shift group tendencies
Addressing strategy and time management
Supporting sustained change
We encourage people working in care and with frontline communities to check in about their well-being and the resilience of their organisation, and consider the changes that should be made on personal, interpersonal, and collective levels. We are open to discussing our experience and approach with Erasmus+ community members, as well as exploring ways to mitigate STS.
