Name
Secondary Trauma: What Is It and How Does It Affect My Work?
Description

This session will be led by the Innocence Network’s Working Group on Secondary Trauma. This session will explain the basics of what secondary trauma is and how it affects people who work with and represent individuals who have been wrongfully convicted. The session will provide a safe space to discuss the issue with an audience where people may have experienced it, work with someone who has, or would like to know about how to support people working in their organization by helping to recognize the signs and symptoms of secondary trauma. We will begin with some primers and definitions of the concepts we will be discussing (secondary trauma, vicarious trauma, burn-out, and compassion fatigue). We will discuss how those feelings may manifest and have manifested for us. We will lead the audience in an interactive activity to make them comfortable with discussing these topics. We will discuss the manual we have prepared and our plans for training sessions. At the end of the session we will then open up the floor to discuss issues related to secondary trauma and what topics people would like to see covered by future trainings.