Trauma and Direct Care Professionals: The Forgotten Sacrifice
Modified from August 2019.
Having worked in our system for a number of years now, I have heard many horrible stories of what people have had to endure in their lifetime. We truly work with some of the strongest survivors I have had the privilege of knowing. According to a report completed by NPR in 2018, people with intellectual disabilities are sexually assaulted at a rate of 7 times higher than someone without an intellectual disability. Further, if we just look only at women with intellectual disabilities, that rate jumps to 12 times.
However, that is not the story I am here to talk about today. Abuse that occurs to those in our system is often ignored, dismissed, under-reported, and typically under prosecuted, but the survivors are not the only people affected. Consider family members, friends, and Direct Care Professionals; these are the other people affected by abuse.
So trauma affects survivors and the people that surround them like Direct Support Professionals. Not only do they provide day to day care meeting physical needs, but they also support emotional needs. Our Direct Service Professionals hear the stories, whether through the person sharing, the team telling, or through reading the person’s records.
I ask you to think of the stories you have heard and how they have impacted your heart and soul. If you haven’t been in the field long, think of stories of brutality and abuse you have heard on the news. These stories affect our beings. Now imagine this is a person you are spending 40+ hours with every week. Maybe a person you have grown to care for and want the best for in life. What kind of impact might this have on you?
While trauma often is overlooked in those we support, what does that mean for the supporter who is also impacted? It is often not even a consideration. Vicarious trauma, secondary trauma, and compassion fatigue are all words we may have heard in relation to the helping profession. They basically all speak to how hearing the traumas of others impacts the supporter in a traumatic way.
When we think of our Direct Support Professionals it is important to consider the factors that may put them at a higher risk of developing unhealthy internal responses. These include:
- having a personal trauma history
- social isolation
- feeling overworked and overwhelmed
- caring for too many people
- having limited or no education on vicarious trauma and how to prevent it
- working for poor pay, under stressful conditions, with limited resources
So what do we do in a day an age when our Direct Service Professionals are so limited in availability? We need to do our best to protect and nurture them. This begins with education around how trauma impacts, not only the person, but the supporter.
How do we create an environment that is safe for both? We need to make sure our supporters are enabled to take care of themselves, which in turn allows them to take care of those they support. Some things we can encourage are supporting people to eat healthy, exercise regularly, and get a good balance of sleep, while educating them on what vicarious trauma is and how to prevent it. It is important to be allowing our supporters a safe place to discuss their feelings about trauma. We need to create an overall trauma informed environment.
We are entering a time where there are less and less Direct Support Professionals to fill the jobs we have to offer. Those who do fill the positions are often overworked and underpaid for what we ask them to accomplish. Each of us can be the key for change in moving forward. We must create a supportive environment for all people within our system to not only succeed but to thrive.
