The Impact of Providing Psychosocial Services to Traumatized Populations

Abstract

In the past decade, the professional literature has burgeoned with articles discussing the phenomena of secondary or vicarious traumatization, however, to a large extent the published literature has been primarily conceptual or anecdotal in nature. This article reviews the results of quantitative studies that address the impact of providing psychosocial services to traumatized populations relative to symptoms of trauma symptoms, disrupted cognitive schema, and general psychological distress. Further, findings associated with risk and protective factors are discussed and suggestions for future research are introduced.