Vicarious trauma refers to changes that can occur through repeated exposure to other people’s trauma, distress or traumatic material as part of your work.
It can affect emotional wellbeing, thinking, relationships and professional functioning. People working in healthcare, insurance and claims, complaints, investigations, legal services, community services and other trauma-exposed roles may be particularly vulnerable.
BetterWorkLife’s Vicarious Trauma Training helps employees understand the impact, recognise early warning signs and develop practical strategies for working sustainably.

Trauma-informed practice is an approach that recognises how past or current trauma can affect a person’s behaviour, communication, emotional responses and interactions with services.

Rather than asking employees to diagnose trauma, Trauma-Informed Practice Training helps them recognise possible trauma responses, communicate with greater awareness, reduce the risk of causing further distress and maintain appropriate professional boundaries.

The main difference is who the training is designed to protect and support.

Trauma-Informed Practice Training focuses on how employees interact with customers, clients, patients or community members who may have experienced trauma.

Vicarious Trauma Training focuses on the employee — helping them understand and manage the impact that repeated exposure to other people’s trauma and distress can have on their own wellbeing and work.

Many organisations benefit from both.

The terms are related but describe different experiences.

Vicarious trauma is associated with repeated exposure to other people’s trauma and may affect a person’s emotions, beliefs and view of themselves or the world.

Compassion fatigue describes the emotional and physical toll that can develop through sustained empathic engagement with people experiencing distress or suffering.

Burnout is associated more broadly with chronic workplace stress and may involve exhaustion, increased mental distance from work and reduced professional effectiveness.

People can experience elements of more than one at the same time.

Anyone whose work involves repeated exposure to trauma, distress, crisis or traumatic material may be at risk.

This can include people working in:

Healthcare · Insurance and claims · Complaints and investigations · Legal services · Government · Community services · Mental health · Disability and aged care · Emergency services · Customer and client-facing roles

Risk is influenced by factors including the nature and frequency of exposure, workload, role demands, available support and individual circumstances.

The impact of vicarious trauma can vary considerably between people.

Possible signs can include emotional exhaustion, difficulty switching off from work, increased irritability or sensitivity, emotional numbing, intrusive thoughts, changes in beliefs or worldview, disrupted sleep, reduced concentration or changes in professional effectiveness.

Experiencing one or more of these signs does not automatically mean someone has vicarious trauma. The aim of training is to build awareness so changes can be recognised and responded to earlier.

Trauma-Informed Training can benefit any organisation whose employees regularly interact with people experiencing trauma, distress, vulnerability or crisis.

It is particularly relevant for customer service and contact centres, healthcare, insurance and claims, complaints and investigations, government and regulatory services, legal services, community services, disability and aged care, education and other frontline teams.

BetterWorkLife tailors scenarios and activities to the situations employees are likely to encounter in their specific work environment.

Yes. BetterWorkLife delivers Vicarious Trauma Training and Trauma-Informed Practice Training across Australia, both onsite and live online.

Training can be tailored to your organisation, industry, workforce and the type of trauma or distress employees encounter through their work.

We also offer Leading Teams Working With Trauma for managers and leaders responsible for supporting employees in trauma-exposed roles.

No. Trauma-informed approaches are relevant wherever employees regularly interact with people who may be distressed, vulnerable or affected by trauma.

This includes traditional helping professions, but also insurance and claims teams, customer service, complaints and investigations, government agencies, legal services, financial services and other frontline roles.

Employees don’t need to be therapists to benefit from understanding how trauma can affect behaviour and communication — and how to respond appropriately while staying within their professional role.