Four names, four very different problems. Which one are you carrying?
Vicarious trauma, compassion fatigue, secondary traumatic stress, and burnout get used like synonyms. They aren't, and naming the wrong one keeps you working on the wrong problem. In about five minutes, find out exactly where you land on the Trauma Therapist Trauma Response, so you walk away with language for what's happening and a clear sense of what to do next.
Get your results and your next step
Tell us where to send them. Along with your place on the model, you'll get the specific first step for where you land, so you leave with clarity and a plan, not just a label.
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Your result is shown as a place on the Trauma Therapist Trauma Response, a model Dr. Jenny Hughes created to make sense of how this work affects us. It always begins with vicarious trauma, which is normal and happens to everyone who does this work. From there it isn't a straight line. You can sit at any point, and you can move back toward steady at any stage of your career. Wherever you land, this is a place to understand, not a verdict.
The whole continuum, and where you landed
Start from the beginning to understand the full Trauma Therapist Trauma Response, or skip straight to your result.
Name It, Tame It, Reframe It
This is the BRAVE framework, the way we work with wherever you land on the response. It turns your result into a few real moves you can actually make.
Name one resource you already have
Don't overthink it. One person, one practice, or one boundary that already helps you wring out the sponge. Writing it down is how it starts to count.
You don't need to be tougher. You need a place to bring this.
What makes this work heavy isn't the trauma itself. It's having nowhere to take your own reactions, no one to tell that a session stayed with you without bracing for judgment or some version of "just be more resilient." BRAVE exists to be that place, which is exactly why what you just measured doesn't have to stay on your shoulders alone.
"Knowing that there is real-time support and dedicated consultation hours is so helpful. The continued contact with everyone in BRAVE has been so special, and knowing they're always there means a lot."
Lindsay B., LICSW, Group Practice Owner"In just a few short months I feel so well prepared in and out of session. I feel more relaxed going into hard sessions because I know I'll be able to address the VT if and when it arises."
Sarah S., LMFT"This community is like a warm hug. Everyone is truly kind, welcoming, and inclusive, and most of all, we're all truly recognized as human beings first."
Marina B., LPCInside BRAVE, nobody asks you to explain why a session stayed with you, to justify needing consultation, or to act like you're unaffected. Whatever the model named for you is normal and reversible, and it moves a whole lot faster when you're not the one carrying it by yourself.
Full access for $12 a month. Come Build Resilience Against Vicarious Exposure. Your full result is on its way to your inbox.