The transformative power of Vicarious Resilience

Vicarious Resilience…?

If you’re like many trauma therapists, you have likely never heard this term. You’re probably familiar with post-traumatic growth or maybe even compassion satisfaction, which are very similar to VR but not quite the same…

Vicarious Resilience and Vicarious Trauma are two sides of the same coin. VT happens when we soak up the stress and trauma we treat each day in our work, while VR happens when we are open to all the big and small moments of triumph we get to witness with our clients.

This post is going to give you a little crash course on vicarious resilience and, fair warning, some of my academic training is going to show through! I’ll be talking about the origins of the term, which are rooted in really cool research. I’ll do my best to make it readable, I promise. 😉

The Origins of Vicarious Resilience

So, vicarious resilience was initially coined by some researchers in 2007 after they interviewed 12 therapists working with survivors of political violence and kidnapping. 

The authors noticed how the therapists didn’t only talk about all the terrible things that happened to their clients, but also focused a lot on the ways their clients overcame their trauma histories. They suggested that this new concept of vicarious resilience might actually help keep therapists in this line of work because it left them feeling so inspired and empowered. 

What Does This Mean for Me?

It’s important to know how to spot VR out in the wild.

Only speaking from my own experience, vicarious resilience is when my client looks me in the eye and tells me they are ready to start trauma work. It’s when they show up for that next session, scared shitless because trauma work sucks, and they tell me they don’t want to be there. 

Vicarious resilience is when we finish the first pass of a trauma memory, and I look at my client with tears in my eyes, marveling at their strength and tenacity. 

I love doing trauma work and guiding people through this journey, but vicarious resilience is what fills my tank and keeps me going.

What Else do We Know about VR?

After the initial article in 2007, the literature on VR has grown, but there is still much to learn.

For example, one article from 2016 found that vicarious resilience had profound effects on therapists’ perception of themselves and their overall world view. Vicarious resilience also seemed to change how the therapists took care of themselves and their beliefs about trauma work and the value of connecting with their clients. 

All the research I have devoured on this subject confirms what I have experienced in my own work - just like VT can impact my professional and personal life, so too can vicarious resilience. 

What Happens When We Open Up to VR?

When I am allowing vicarious resilience to be present for me, I find that I am so much more aware of the little things that bring me joy. 

Vicarious resilience allows me to dive into relationships and experiences that are available to me on the regular, but that I can easily take for granted. Vicarious resilience lets me hug my daughter and really feel her body push into mine, it helps me laugh at my dog’s antics, and it reminds me to live life to the fullest.

Vicarious resilience isn’t only experienced in our therapeutic relationships with clients. We can also find it in the connections we build and foster with trusted colleagues, with fellow trauma therapists. When we share our own stories of vicarious resilience, it lifts up everyone along the way.

What Next?

• Be sure to check out the articles I link to above so you can learn more about this powerful concept

• Start to notice how your brain and body respond when your clients share big and small wins in session

  • I call these the “warm fuzzies”

• Begin telling trusted colleagues about these moments

  • Mark their importance and share them with others!

• Consider how it would feel to be surrounded by other trauma therapists who also understand and value vicarious resilience - like we do in The BRAVE Trauma Therapist Collective

• As always, reach out with questions or to share your own stories of VR!