Secondary Trauma & Compassion Fatigue Check-In

Thanks for taking a few minutes for this check-in. It's about the emotional toll of hearing or witnessing other people's traumatic experiences through your work — sometimes called secondary or vicarious trauma. Your answers are confidential and there are no right answers; honest ones help us support staff better. About 6 minutes. If anything here brings up distress, please reach out to your supervisor or EAP resources afterward.

In the last 30 days, how often has your work required you to directly hear or witness detailed accounts of someone else's traumatic experience (e.g., abuse, violence, disaster, medical trauma)?

• Never
• A few times
• Weekly
• A few times a week
• Daily or almost daily

In the last 30 days, how often have you noticed each of the following?

Overall, how much has hearing or witnessing others' traumatic experiences affected your own emotional wellbeing in the last 30 days?

Which of the following do you currently use to cope with the emotional impact of your work? Select all that apply.

• Talking with colleagues informally
• Formal supervision or case debriefing
• Exercise or physical activity
• Therapy or counseling for myself
• Limiting exposure to trauma-related content outside work
• Spiritual or faith-based practice
• Alcohol or substances to relax
• Journaling or creative outlets

How much do you agree with each statement about support at your current workplace?

If your organization could add or improve one support at a time, which would help most and which would help least?

• Mandatory debriefing after difficult cases
• Caseload or exposure limits
• More frequent clinical supervision
• Access to confidential counseling
• Structured peer support groups
• Paid mental health days
• Training on secondary trauma resilience
• Flexible scheduling after critical incidents

Identify the specific case, client, or incident (without needing identifying details) that has affected this respondent most in the last 30 days, and reconstruct what happened afterward: did they talk to anyone, take time to process it, or push through without support. If they flagged a support gap in the workplace statements, probe concretely what would have made the biggest difference in that moment. If they report minimal impact, ask what specific habits or boundaries they use that seem to be working, so they can be shared as protective practices.

Is there anything about how secondary trauma shows up in your work that we haven't asked about?

Almost done — just a few background questions to help us understand patterns across roles. All optional.

Which best describes your role? (Template note: replace with your organization's actual role categories before launching.)

• (Replace with Role A, e.g., Case Manager)
• (Replace with Role B, e.g., Therapist/Counselor)
• (Replace with Role C, e.g., First Responder)
• (Replace with Role D, e.g., Nurse/Medical Staff)
• Prefer not to say

How long have you worked in a role that involves regular exposure to others' trauma?

• Less than 1 year
• 1-3 years
• 4-7 years
• 8-15 years
• More than 15 years
• Prefer not to say

What best describes your primary work setting?

• In-person direct service
• Remote or telehealth
• Hybrid
• Administrative or supervisory
• Prefer not to say

Thank you for being honest about something that's hard to talk about. Responses are aggregated and never tied to individuals, and the findings will directly inform staffing, supervision, and support planning. If you need support now, please reach out to your supervisor or your organization's employee assistance program.