Vicarious trauma and first responders: a case study utilizing eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) as the primary treatment modality.

Traumatic events can occur and adversely affect people during their lifetime. Natural disasters such as the earthquake in Pakistan in 2005 or the Tsunami in Asia in 2004, terrorist atrocities around the world, or personal events such as physical or sexual assault, can result in psychological difficulties for those people directly affected by these events. The diagnostic term Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD; Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition, DSM IV 1994) is generally used to explain the often-severe psychological sequalae (van der Kolk, 1996; Servan-Schreiber 2004; Shapiro, 1995) that people may exhibit when directly affected by trauma. However, what of those people not directly involved in the trauma, but those who have borne witness to it, either by listening to the stories of survivors, or in the case of the helping professionals (such as police officers, nurses, doctors, psychotherapists, fire-fighters), actively working with survivors in psychological distress? This paper examines the potential psychological consequences for those in helping professions who are working with traumatized clients. This paper then focuses on a specific treatment intervention, EMDR, utilizing a case study by way of explanation.