Managing Vicarious Trauma: A Guide for Those who Help Others

Those of us involved with people who have serious illness are affected in deeply vulnerable ways. It can be hard to take care of ourselves when others are suffering. I will offer a guide for coping.  

Whether we are loved ones, caretakers, or healthcare professionals, witnessing serious illness impacts us in deeply personal ways. It can be hard to take care of ourselves while taking care of others. This talk will offer coping strategies for those who are in a helping role and the unavoidable aspects of vicarious trauma that many of us face. I’ll discuss how fear plays a major role in our thinking and behavior, yet, the emotion of fear is so often negated in our culture. Loneliness and isolation are common result of this. Coping and beginning to heal requires us to listen to and trust our thoughts and feelings, as well as managing the normal fight/flight responses that are common when witnessing someone at the end of their life. I’ll discuss how to navigate parts of the medical system, which do not allow space for thinking or reflection, as well as how to find social support that is truly meaningful.  I’ll also discuss grieving and the myth of so-called “normal” grieving.

Tamara McClintock Greenberg, Psy.D., M.S., is a clinical psychologist in private practice in San Francisco, CA, where she specializes in treating adults with depression, anxiety, relationship issues, trauma, and those who are coping with medical illness, either as a patient or affected family member.

She is the author of  Psychodynamic Perspectives on Aging and Illness and When Someone You Love Has a Chronic Illness  and has written extensively on aging and illness.

This event is part of Reimagine End of Life, a community-wide exploration of death and celebration of life through creativity and conversation. Drawing on the arts, spirituality, healthcare, and design, it creates weeklong series of events that break down taboos and bring diverse communities together in wonder, preparation, and remembrance.

Participants will learn about various ways to approach the end of life experience and be exposed to various modalities that promote creativity, compassion, inspiration and self-acceptance. 

For more information visit Reimagine End of Life.