Stacey: Hi Sarah, thanks so much for giving me time for this interview.

And I just
wanted to run through back again that you're fully in consent and a complete
interview. And that you can redraw at any time and I'm recording this interview.
it's just for my own purposes for college. and yeah, be happy to go ahead.
Sarah: Yeah, Stacey, course. I'm happy to go ahead.
Stacey: Great. So I'm just going to get started now. um so I suppose first, um,
what are the common signs and symptoms of vicarious trauma within social care
workers?,
Sarah: uh maybe this is just for me, eh, maybe it doesn't apply to everybody, but
um I've experienced burnout and do you what it's called early on my practice em
I had anxiety, depression, like no energy. and all of those types of feelings. What
I learned for me is what we call burnout. It's app nearly and parcel of our social
care career. um our health or lifestyle. Like we need to have more self-care
practices. For me, self care is a way of life. and it's how I incorporate into my
daily practice, once I realize, like, how to get it in order, burnout and kind of like
vicarious trauma, it kind of went away. And never really, never goes away
because you're always gonna have difficult experiences and situations where
young people, um you' always gonna get something that might trigger yet. And
but work now, like it's more positive generally. And I suppose that's incorporating
those signs and symptoms that you've mentioned so like anxiety, low mood, like
feeling tired all the time. But yeah, I think before, like, like everyone puts the
word as burn out and but yeah, I think it already works, like, if we put in to work
ourselves for this Yeah.
Stacey Thanks, and so how does vicarious trauma impact your personal and
professional lives or social workers?
Sarah For me, work with individuals who have experienced the most horrific
trauma within their lives. I've learned that I need to have boundaries and rituals
for myself, but before while I'm in work on after work, especially after work, eh I
need to be present, I'm mindful with young people that I'm working with. I need
to hold space, create that boundary. when I'm not on work, I'm not in connection,
I need to like learn how to co regulate. and I suppose that's skills that we teach
young people, but also I need to teach myself, em have to feel present and be
part to your present with their experiences and show like that you are em, you
holding on for them., but it really impacts like professional lives of social care
workers like you're constantly thinking about the young people, what they're
getting up to how their tune. I suppose that's why self care is so important
because you're constantly………… like there's no switch off sometimes and you
have to have those boundaries and those skills to be able to switch off.. eh Yeah.
Stacey: Oh God, Sarah, that's great, like that really speaks like the impact
vicarious trauma and especially like like that thinking about it all the time. So,
what strategies can social care workers use to manage and migate effects of
vicarious trauma?
Sarah>……..Supose like that there I have kind of touched on it briefly, but for me
take a few seconds, like I need to practice mindfulness. I need to be present in
the moment because my mind can run 100 miles a minute and eh… and this just
it's not beneficial like. So I take a few seconds, close my eyes, make sure, like I'm
for and on my breathing and I breath work is great. I inhail, I notice what way the
air is, if it's cold, how it's coming up, really be practiced in that mindfulness. then
I experienced that from my whole body like my belly going in and out and in and
out. Em….And yeah, mindfulness, try and work when I'm in work. Em… I try to be
me really present in my body, find fault way in my body language is, especially
because that can affect a young person and make sure that I'm sitting on my
seat, can tap my feet back and forward, up and down, just make sure that I'm
really present in my body. make sure my spine is aligned, and I do those kind of
grounding and techniques. a couple of times a day when I come away from a
young person,, oh I really try to let go what's not mine go to the office, take a
few minutes by myself, take a deep breath, and the office is like Safe space, so
making sure, like you can decompress, like, smell a dry, a little dried roses, make
sure I'm grounded. Like, I really have to have those rituals to help.
Stacey:God sarah. Like, they're really great techniques, so how can your
organization support Socaial care in theimate vicarious trauma?
Well, my workplace is actually quite good and to offer workshop some variarious
trauma awareness, is it we have resilient training sessions. Ehh peer support, we
have like our training inhouse training officer who, like, you can create what you
need so he's very good. And we have supervision, and I suppose you can bring
up anything when you're struggling and with kids or young people, staff, like if
there's anything really bogging you down, we have debriefing, especially for
after having a really challenging events or instant, like, this address, like the
behaviour is what you do different, how it's affected stuff, a Yeah. Train can really
depend, like, on the organization and policy, so it's really good, like if policy like
policy is there to support………………. I don't know how to say it like, what to be
able to support the staff wellbeing and like your mental health and having that
inclusive iity. um my organization does train and sessions quite regularly. We also
have like a clinical support and they are monthly, but like every quarter one
session is focused on staff and self-care, mindfulness practices are like, if you're
dealing with CSA like how to take those. disclosures and how to mind yourself
and incorporate those, practices. um like have refresher training. So, yeah, I
think I like organizations need to be really mindful on how to support their staff.
um cause they're the ones that are underground working with young people.
Stacey:Perfect, like, you touched their briefly on supervision, so what role does
supervision play in preventing or addressing vicarious trauma among social
Worker?

Sarah: (Cough)Apologies. me like supervision is so important in residential work.

I'm working as a social record. I think Pure support also is really important. like
you have that shared live experience. and there's also peer support groups that
are available for social care workers to that kind of experiences. And I think
there's this vital it provides a space like professionals to share their experiences
and which are challenges within the field, also, like you get non-judgmental
approach when you're speaking to your peers, especially when they have that
experience also. supervision is great, but your supervisor also has to be able take
knowledge and pick up on the signs of stress emm and how you're dealing with
the young people. Emm And but like, yeah,orts professional development, like
coping strategies, you can bring up training that you would like, that supervision
is key. I think you get to discuss what behavior still after it exhibited and how you
manage them are support plans working, uh behavior, support plans working,
what could be changed? and it really gives you that open form where you can
discuss what's going on, what's next. And how can I improve what am I doing? Is
anything I can change. Like all those questions are addressed, but in supervision,
which I think is great.

Stacey: So, what do you think then are the long term effects of a carious trauma
on social care workers, their mental health, and their job performance.
Sarah: m. I think long term effects, I think burnout definitely is a long term effect.
I do think that social care has quite high turnover rate like nobody wants to be
working on the floor when they're middle aged and in 60s. I intrusive of thoughts
sometimes of like, really challenging situations, like you think you've dealt with
it, but then you can kind of get flashbacks. You can be triggered yourself. We
often have to young people about triggers, but then you can often be triggered
yourself by situations. guilt, sadness, anger, sleep disturbance, increasing
anxiety, not being able to stop thinking about work. um irritability. I think you
have to be really self aware, um or else this can manifest and become long term
effects. Like that's the last thing you want, and then you nearly know you need
to break from the job because you're not going to give any valuable tools to the
young people to help them build resilience and coping techniques while you have
your own issues that you're dealing with. um and that can be vicarious trauma
that's the nurtured the job, like you can get second hand trauma based on the
young people's experience because what they have gone through is horrific at
times. and you have to help them True that and manager and given them the
right support and avenues where they can go and get the support and help that
they need, but you also need to be mindful that you might need that support. So
I think that's why it's so beneficial having the EAP program, supervision, clinical
support, training, all of this builds up your resilience in your tool kit. which then
helps you support young people.
Stacey: So, you can decide a terrible how then can social care workers build
resilience to cate the challenges of various drama?

Stacey For me, I found that to briefin is huge, like, especially after a significant
event. like I had one event where we had to debriefign session, asked what, what
happened, what could you do differently? And it's really like talk and through
everything, why you met those decisions in a split second. But also, if there is
anything that you can do differently and what could you do? Um I just working on
acceptance that I'm not able to help everybody and I can't change the past, but I
can help them to work on our future. Small bits, small steps. I found the visual of
like a sand glass. which you know the grains of salt, like I think as the social care
worker when you first go into the job, you think you're going to change the
worlds and make this massive difference. But when I look at it's like, I like a grain
of sand, each conversation, each thing adds up and it's building on their
resilience and then that helps you focus Yeah, taking a little wins, learning from
the mistakes and doing yoga, I think that really helps grounds me like I said,
before ground an exercise breed and just start, like, you're able to fight against
the burner and building your own resilience into, okay, I think that's really
important..
Stacey: So, Sarah, then, what resources or tools are provided to staff to help
them c for vicarious trauma?
Sarah For me, am my organization, like I've worked in many different
organizations and I suppose at the moment, the current company I'm working in
is quite good for staff. I' access to an A for EUP program and we get six free
sessions, and an reduced rate. if we need a further, I think this is a a valuable
service. I suppose it gives you that confidentiality where you can then go and
discuss your worries and how you're feeling. spoke about earlier there training
sessions, focusing on trauma, informed care. These also like give you the tools.
and you can then use that and helping others like you have to be aware of your
own triggers and your own emotional responses before you can deal with
anybody else's. Like we all have our own trauma and our own history. and so
certain situations are going to eh …. trigger us a so how do your manage and
your own responses, like really helps peer sport, spoke about that before as well.
Em And I think there's lots of tools out there, but it's been aware of these tools.
emm because not every when you're starting out, you're never told, like, this is
what you needs to do. Well, I suppose that I was in college. and ten,…….. 12
years ago, and you're not there was no real focus on self care and building your
resilience and making sure you're available of all these resources, but now I think
there is more focus on that. stress management workshops are offered in my
organization, like to develop coping strategies to my get effects of stress and
trauma and burnout and because it is a stressful foot job, like it is difficult and
like not everybody is able to deal with it and that's okay to supervision and yeah,
I think all of this, like, really helps weights building resilience within staff.
Stacey What role then does management play in identifying an addressing signs
of vicarious trauma among workers?
Sarah: I think that's a hard one, and because well, I suppose your manager see
ya every time you're on shifts, like so they know who you are, you know your
personality, so they should be able to recognize signs then that if you're getting
irratibilty or anxiety, they won't really know about sleep differences, but they
should be able to address signs a burnout trauma among the recorders.
Particularly in ore area, where we're exposed to more like you're exposed to
difficult situations, you're exposed to young people assault in you, young people
just bring in up disclosures like it's quite difficult work. And some management
should be responsible for creating that safe and support of environment, a that
allows communication, that allows you to be able to go and say, look, I'm
struggling. So like they should be able complete in like check ins, debrief and
what staff, I supposing team meetings as well, checking in how people are doing,
and like, I think all managers should be trained and to spot the signs, and I think
most like I think most do, because as a manager, go on up to the ranks, you have
to work in the floor, like, so you have that experience of what it's like. so they
should be able to identify signs early and address it appropriately putting indoors
training plans for staff, educating staff about trauma and how it can affects you
as a person, your personal life, and as a professional. And this should be promote
in self-c care. There should be promoting like mental health. wellbeing days, like
staff team building, and the EAPP. So like if they're focused on all of those before
anything happens, then staff should be feeling able to come and discuss it and
come to their manager earlier so that if it's a proactive, then that helps support
the staff be resilient.
Stacey: So, Sarah you, kind of touched on it there, like staff turned over and
burnouts and vicarious trauma. So how is impact the vicarious trauma on stuff
turned over and job satisfaction, monitors?
Sarah For me, I have just left before this job now. My previous job left a
residential unit and was under staffed and that was that played a massive part in
how I felt in my stress levels and how I felt like I was able to over to young
people. So but this was like I constant issue. So when you're understaffed as well,
you have agency in who don't know the kids, that affects the kids's relationships.
They look for you. You nearly went to crisis where then the staff, the burnout
rate, like it's massive because you feel so much stress on your shoulders. so like
you can't have that quality of care going across because you're on the floor
constantly with kids, you're not getting a breaks as much like you're not a you're
doing all the paperwork. There's no balance um So I don't know if that was
monitored because there was a lot of staff leaving. So, like, if that was monitored
like through exit interviews and staff conversations and management checkins
and supervisions, you would have been able to see, like from people's honest
opinions, what is happening on the floor or wired I leave and you can address
that and then change it because I do think there is a high turn over rate within
social care, like in that case we had really challenging behavior a lot of restraints,
and restraints have a massive impact on your relationship with young people,
but you also then feel guilt about putting a young person into it like it's massive
and so I don't know, like it was monitored in the last place, but this this new
organization that I amm in, there is like exit interviews. that you complete with
stuff and the reasons why to leave and what would they change. If they could
stay, what would you stay like your offer that, like what do you need from us?
And I suppose that's more than focused on job satisfaction and retention and
supporting the staff like you feel more supportive, like I feel more support in this
organization. I think they care more about how you feel and wanting to keep you
and at your importance, which is massive then that improves your job
satisfaction.
Stacey That's it now Sarah, thank you so much. It's just a short little interview,
but thank you so much for participating. just wanted to transcribe yeah, and then
it'll be part of my research process, but thank you again and if you need anting,
just let me know.