Positive Outcome Mapping: A Vicarious Resilience Tool for Trauma Therapists
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As trauma therapists, we witness profound stories of pain and healing every day. While the weight of vicarious trauma is a familiar challenge, there’s another, often overlooked, force at play: vicarious resilience.
This is the energy we draw from our clients’ growth—those moments of courage, progress, and healing that remind us why we chose this work.
But recognizing vicarious resilience doesn’t always come naturally. That’s why I developed a tool for the members of The BRAVE Trauma Therapist Collective called Positive Outcome Mapping and today, I'm pulling it out of the vault to share with you!
The practice of Positive Outcome Mapping offers a simple, structured way to reframe your perspective, notice the resilience already present in your work, and reconnect with the meaning behind what you do.
Why Noticing Resilience Can Be Difficult
Even though we know the importance of resilience, it can be hard to focus on when:
The emotional weight of the work overshadows small wins.
Stress and burnout make it difficult to see positives.
There’s a tendency to dwell on what’s not working.
These barriers are common for trauma therapists, and they’re valid. But, they can also disconnect us from the hope and purpose that sustain us in this work.
Recognizing resilience isn’t about ignoring the challenges—it’s about finding harmony in the narrative.
Introducing Positive Outcome Mapping
Positive Outcome Mapping is a reflective exercise designed to help therapists notice and celebrate resilience in their clients and themselves. It's helpful any time in your work, and in BRAVE, we've found it's most helpful when you're feeling stuck or frustrated with a certain case.
Here’s how it works:
Start with a Client: Choose a client.
Create a Map: Write the client’s initials or presenting problem in the center of a blank page.
Explore Five Key Areas:
Positive Outcomes: Small wins or shifts, like how they have been showing up consistently or trying a new coping skill.
Client Strengths: Traits like courage, persistence, or their ability to connect with others.
Coping Strategies: Skills they’ve used, even if they don’t recognize them as such.
Moments of Grace: Breakthroughs, shared laughter, or unexpected progress.
Goosebumps Moments: Those moments that remind you why you do this work.
Through this process, you create a visual reminder of the resilience and progress happening in your work, even when it feels stuck.
A Case Example: Positive Outcome Mapping in Practice
To illustrate how we use this tool in BRAVE, I want to share how it helped one of our members. This member was working with a client who was going round and round in circles. Every session felt like groundhog day! This made the work heavier than usual, and this member started questioning whether they were making a difference.
Fortunately, the BRAVE member was able to bring this case to one of our live consultation calls, where we used Positive Outcome Mapping together, as a group, to support the trauma therapist and thus the client.
As they worked through the five key areas, they noticed:
The client had consistently attended sessions, even when it was hard for them.
Humor had become a subtle but effective coping strategy.
A moment of vulnerability, where the client named an emotion they’d long avoided, stood out as a breakthrough.
By the time we finished the exercise, they felt a renewed sense of hope and purpose in the work with this client. Completing the Positive Outcome Mapping with fellow BRAVE members also helped deepen this perspective, reinforcing the value of both their client’s progress and their own work.
This member's experience highlights how Positive Outcome Mapping isn’t just about reframing the client’s journey—it’s about recharging your own energy and connection to the work.
Practical Tips for Therapists
Here are a few ways to incorporate Positive Outcome Mapping into your practice:
Use It Regularly: Set aside time weekly or after tough sessions to reflect and map out resilience.
Share with Peers: Discuss your maps with trusted colleagues to amplify vicarious resilience collectively.
Reflect Personally: Revisit your maps during moments of doubt to reconnect with the meaning behind your work.
Building Collective Resilience
Recognizing resilience—in our clients and ourselves—isn’t just an exercise in positivity. It’s necessary to tap into the renewable energy source of vicarious resilience.
By leaning into tools like Positive Outcome Mapping, we can balance the weight of vicarious trauma with the hope and meaning that sustain us.
If you’re looking for a space to deepen your resilience practice, join us in The BRAVE Trauma Therapist Collective. It’s a community where you can share your reflections, connect with peers, and find renewed energy for the work you love.
What’s one small moment of grace or a goosebumps moment you’ve experienced recently?
Share it in the comments—we’d love to hear your story.
