Auburn faculty apply research, real-world experience to educate future social workers on the cost of caring

In the College of Liberal Arts, social work faculty prepare students to face the emotional labor of one of the world’s most vital professions by sharing their research and experience with secondary traumatic stress.

Secondary traumatic stress, also known as vicarious traumatization and compassion fatigue, occurs when social workers experience trauma while on the job. The symptoms of secondary traumatic stress mirror those of PTSD, including hypervigilance, low concentration, anxiety and depression. Many social workers are susceptible to secondary traumatic stress because of their own history with trauma.

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