Transforming the Pain

In your profession, do you help or work with people who have been traumatized? Do you listen to stories of abuse, suffering, or trauma from your clients every day? If so, you know it is impossible to hear and bear witness to trauma survivors' experiences and not be changed. You know firsthand the personal cost of the work you do and the struggle to make sense of powerful, often painful, feelings and altered beliefs. This transformation of a helper's inner experience is called vicarious traumatization (VT); it is an inescapable effect of trauma work. Transforming the Pain is the first work book to address VT. It is designed to take care of the helper - to help you assess, address, and transform your own VT. Transforming the Pain defines and describes the VT process and offers reassurance that you are not alone with these painful experiences. It includes self-assessment worksheets, and guidelines and specific exercises for addressing VT and improving self-care. It is designed to be used by a wide range of professionals and paraprofessionals, including, but not limited to, therapists, police, medical personnel, crisis workers, and clergy. After working with Transforming the Pain, you will find that you have a new awareness of the ways your work affects your life as well as new skills and and tools to improving your emotional well-being.