Social workers are struggling within their professional and personal lives. Many who work in the mental health and medical fields are struggling due to staff shortages, rapid turnover, compassion fatigue and poor staff recruitment. Social work clinicians can expect therapeutic encounters to include discussions of deaths, loss, and reduced security resulting in negative mental health occurrences as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. Ones that work with families and individuals who are experiencing trauma are often adversely affected by these interactions. Social work clinicians may require mental health treatment of their own while simultaneously developing trauma as a result of working with a clinical population in the treatment setting.

METHODS:

Licensed social workers (N=42) participated in focus groups and discussed their personal experiences related to mental health while dealing with families and individuals who experienced trauma.

RESULTS:

Common themes:

Support

Empathy

Training

Burnout

Vicarious Trauma/Secondary Traumatic Stress

Self-Care/Respect

CONCLUSIONS:

Social workers are experiencing and reporting higher rates of depression and anxiety along with burnout and STS. The need for trauma informed social workers will be in higher demand due to societal shifts, post-pandemic adjustments, and political unrest. It will be essential for social workers to combat the occurrence of STS and VT in the therapeutic relationship. Social workers will recognize a supportive peer network and a strong family system as a protective factor, influencing positive mental health outcomes. Exploratory research is needed to create and implement effective interventions to help improve the long-term mental health of social work clinicians.