Vicarious Trauma with Robyn Bradey

Do you run cases with traumatising evidence and finish a trial overwhelmed with emotions or notice changes in your mood? Do specific cases linger in your thoughts long after working on them? Do you find it challenging to maintain a healthy work-life balance?

You are not alone, many barristers regularly deal with distressing subject-matters: murder, sexual assault, catastrophic injuries, mental illness, the abuse of children and more. Vicarious trauma (also known as secondary post-traumatic stress) is a phenomenon which is now well-recognised as affecting members of the legal profession.

Robyn Bradey, an accredited mental health social worker and counsellor, discusses identifying, mitigating and managing vicarious trauma. The slides can also be accessed here.