Читать книгу Social Work with Sex Offenders - Cowburn Malcolm - Страница 21

Two areas of impact are highlighted: vicarious trauma (VT) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). VT is the taking on by the therapist/social worker of the symptoms (of trauma) experienced and described by the person they are working with. People who sexually harm others not only impose trauma on their victims, but, in many cases, have also been victimised themselves, with female offenders having higher rates of victimisation than men (see Ogloff et al, 2012). VT is experienced through a range of bodily symptoms, for example, alterations to workers’ sex lives, headaches and nausea (Leicht, 2008; Pack, 2011; NSPCC, 2013). Symptoms of PTSD include disordered sleep (Ellerby, 1997; Jackson et al, 1997), recurrent and intrusive dreams, an inability to concentrate, fear (experienced somatically through a range of symptoms), and extreme tiredness (Farrenkopf, 1992). While the impacts may be experienced physically, it is more common that they are felt psychologically and emotionally. This directly affects a person’s ability to relate to others, whether in a personal or in a professional capacity.