This session will provide health professionals with strategies and tools to maintain their wellbeing while dealing with traumatic cases and environments.
You will be able to understand the impact of trauma exposure on health professionals’ mental and physical wellbeing and recognise the signs of compassion fatigue, burnout, and secondary trauma. You will learn evidence-based strategies for self-care and resilience and develop an individualised wellbeing plan to manage stress in high-trauma environments.
In today’s demanding work environments, certain professions expose people to distressing images and details of traumatic events, which can lead to the onset of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
Secondary trauma, also known as ‘Vicarious Trauma’ is an indirect experience of or exposure to a traumatic event and can be described as “the experience of a professional personally developing and reporting their own trauma symptoms as a result of responding to victims of trauma”. Research shows that among people who experience secondary trauma, 7.8% may have lasting symptoms, and 3.6% meet all the criteria for PTSD over a one-year period.
It’s estimated that 44% of healthcare workers have diagnosable PTSD, but it’s widely anticipated that this number is much higher. Approximately 18-24% of emergency service call handlers experience symptoms of PTSD.
NICE Guidelines of watchful waiting
WHO SHOULD ATTEND
Health professionals (e.g., doctors, nurses, mental health practitioners, social workers, emergency services such as police, paramedics) working in trauma-exposed settings.
• People who are exposed to trauma in their roles
• People who want to understand how trauma can impact their own mental and physical wellbeing
KEY LEARNING OBJECTIVES
This CPD masterclass aims to provide attendees with skills and takeaways for how they can manage their wellbeing whilst working with trauma and prevent a mental health decline. Join us and gain actionable insights into secondary trauma, psychological resilience and change, discovering how these strategies contribute to individual wellbeing, mental health maintenance and overall workplace productivity.
During the afternoon you will consider the importance of taking proactive steps to support staff and how you can manage your own stress in the workplace. You will come away with stress management takeaways as well as lessons in how to build resiliency.
