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Cultivating Vicarious Resilience
A Wellness Corner Blog Post By NRCDV’s Wellness Warriors
As advocates, many of us are all too familiar with the negative effects of vicarious trauma on our mental health and overall wellbeing, and we often hear about the importance of self-care in order to prevent burnout and promote our long-term sustainability in this work. But one of the amazing things about working in the gender-based violence field is that while vicarious trauma can be a very real threat, evidence suggests that vicarious resilience can influence us as well. Bearing witness to the incredible resilience of survivors can have a profoundly positive impact on our own attitudes and emotions and can help sustain us as we do the work that we’re passionate about.
Pioneering research by Pilar Hernandez-Wolfe and others indicates that vicarious resilience can show up in a variety of ways, such as a sense of awe at human beings’ immense capacity to heal, reassessment of one’s own problems, and renewed feelings of hope. If you are interested in assessing your own vicarious resilience, the recently developed Vicarious Resilience Scale was designed to help professionals working with trauma survivors recognize and cultivate vicarious resilience.
And there is more good news—we have the ability to build our own capacities for resilience! Fostering Resilience, Respect & Healthy Growth in Childhood and Beyond offers the following suggestions for strengthening capacity for resilience:- Identify or name your experience
- Tell your story
- Practice mindfulness
- Ground yourself in your body
- Seek support
Expressive writing, mindful mediation, connecting with loved ones, and grounding breathing exercises can all be great starting points for promoting personal resilience. Self-assessment tools that measure resilience, strengths, and assets can also be helpful way to promote self-awareness for advocates and survivors alike.
For more information on the exciting new field of vicarious resilience research, check out the following articles:- Vicarious Resilience, Vicarious Trauma, and Awareness of Equity in Trauma Work by Pilar Hernandez-Wolfe, et al.
- Vicarious Resilience and Healthy Helping Professionals by Kyle D. Killian
- On a High Wire: Helping Professionals, Trauma and Resilience by Kyle D. Killian
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