Idaho State University

This page contains references, archived papers, and measures of traumatic stress and secondary traumatic stress. Please feel free to use them liberally as long as you give credit to the authors. Toward the bottom you will find useful links to other TS web pages.

Professional Quality of Life Test Manual Manual

Professional Quality of Life: Telehealth for Prevention and Intervention of the Negative Effects of Caregiving (select "Telehealth for Prevention"  link from left menu bar). This is a paper on our (Larsen, Stamm & Davis) thinking on moving moving secondary/vicarious trauma from needs to assets. It is a brief paper on our theory of professional quality of life published in the Fall 2002 issue of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies StressPoints by follow the link to the article called  

One Page Handout on Secondary and Vicarious Trauma. People who work in “helping professions” are called to respond to individual, community, national, and even international crises. Health care professionals, social service workers, teachers, attorneys, police officers, firefighters, clergy, airline and other transportation staff, disaster site clean-up crews, and others who offer assistance at the time of the event or later, may be negatively affected by their contact with these events. 

The prefaces to my book Secondary Traumatic Stress: Self Care Issues for Clinicians, Researchers, and Educators, The preface to the first edition grew from a speech I gave for the 1991 Psi Chi induction at the University of Wyoming. Since it has been published, many people have written to me to share their understanding of science and the passion that fuels science. When I tried to write the preface to the second edition, it felt like a challenge to my skills as a scientist and a person. So much had transpired in the 1/2 decade between the two editions of the book--both in the world, and in myself. With the permission of my publisher, Sidran Press, I have posted it here so that people can download it if they like.

Measures of  Traumatic Stress (HTML & PDF Files) Many people ask about the measures that we use for assessing quality of life and traumatic stress symptoms.  We believe that even if people experience highly stressful events, they may have positive experiences also.  Because of that, we try very hard to make sure to understand the balance between personal resources (social support, belief systems, financial and community resources) and the stressful experiences a person has had. This page archives many of the measures we use.  These measures are in the public domain.  Please feel free to use them for yourself or for handouts, or in research.   We would be delighted to hear about your experiences.  If you are doing research data collection, please consider sharing your data with us so that we can add to the archives we maintain for psychometric purposes. You can find more information about them in my book Measurement of Stress, Trauma and Adaptation listed below.

Literature Review: Work-Related Secondary Traumatic Stress This is the full text of a review (in pdf) that I wrote looking at traumatic stress reactions in those who provide care for others. Veterans Affairs National Center for PTSD Research Quarterly, Volume 8, Number 2, Spring 1997. The great controversy about helping-induced trauma is not "Can it happen?" but "What shall we call it?" After reviewing nearly 200 references from PILOTS, Psychlit, Medline, and Social Sciences Index, it is apparent that there is no routinely used term to designate exposure to another's traumatic material by virtue of one's role as a helper. Four terms are most common: "compassion fatigue" (CF); "countertransference" (CT); "secondary traumatic stress" (STS); and "vicarious traumatization" (VT). Field-specific literature emerged as early as 1980 in relation to emergency services workers........ 

Risking Connection A curriculum for working with traumatic stress survivors. Research in the emerging field of traumatology demonstrates that many of our most difficult-to-treat, suicidal, and self-injuring patients have histories of childhood trauma. Understanding the psychological consequences of early trauma, as well as state-of-the art treatment practices, will result in mental health care that is more clinically effective and significantly cost-saving. Treaters without this education may become discouraged in their attempts to help this group of clients, and may suffer from burnout as a result. This leads to a vicious cycle of high staff turnover rates, increased costs, and more state clients in search of the help they need.

Secondary/Vicarious Traumatic Stress resources from "A Gift From Within", an international organization for Survivors of Trauma and victimization.

Compassion  Fatigue:  A Concern For Mental Health Policy, Providers, & Administration.(full text, PDF File)  This is a poster we presented on Secondary Traumatic Stress at the 1997 Annual meeting of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies.  ABSTRACT: This project examined the impact of compassion Fatigue on the quality of care as an emerging issue for mental health care policy reform.  A key questions in the study was whether on not compassion fatigue should be a concern for mental health policy.  Using both a policy analysis and an empirical study, the study explored the nature of individual and organizational self-care domains for mental health providers and providers in training.  The results indicated that compassion fatigue should be considered at the administrative and policy levels.  Suggestions for further research and potential administrative interventions are identified. Rudolph, J.M., Stamm B.H., & Stamm, H.E. (Nov, 1997). Compassion  Fatigue  A Concern For Mental Health Policy, Providers, & Administration. Poster at the 13th Annual Meeting of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, Montreal, PQ, CA.

Psychometric Review of Compassion Fatigue Self Test.(full text, PDF File). (BIG FILE!) This is a psychometric review of the original version of the Compassion Satisfaction/Fatigue Self Test, prior to the addition of the Satisfaction subscales.  It is the best published reference for the psychometrics on the scale.   We hope to have a published version of all three scales in the late fall or early winter of 1998.  We will put a link here as soon as it is ready.  For now, use this reference and the online published info on the measure itself. Figley, C.R. & Stamm, B.H. (1996). Psychometric Review of Compassion Fatigue Self Test. In B.H. Stamm (Ed), Measurement of Stress, Trauma and Adaptation. Lutherville, MD: Sidran Press. Reprinted here by permission from Sidran Press

Vicarious Traumatization & Indirect Trauma: Selected Bibliography. This is a selected bibliography prepared by Laurie Anne Pearlman of the Traumatic Stress Institute. It lists 20 important references to understand the how treating traumatic stress can affect caregivers.

Traumatic Stress Institute / Center for Adult & Adolescent Psychotherapy, LLC (TSI/CAAP) is an organization specializing in working with survivors of traumatic life events. They are committed to providing the highest quality professional services for persons whose lives have been affected by traumatic stress.This includes: accidents, family violence, physical and emotional abuse, sexual abuse and incest, rape and sexual assault, violent crime, sudden death or loss of others, war and combat, natural and human-made disasters, life-threatening illnesses, and serious injuries. They also address the impact of indirect trauma in those who work with and care for survivors.

The TSI/CAAP Professional Education and Training Program professional education and training program offers a variety of opportunities for mental health professionals and other trauma workers to receive specialized training in treatment of survivors of violence and abuse. Our program includes clinical supervision and consultation, seminars and workshops, and a post-doctoral training program (APPIC member). From time to time, we offer a week-long intensive trauma training program for psychotherapists.

Sidran Foundation and Press This is a very deep site. The Foundation is dedicated to education about dissociation and traumatic stress. The Press is the home of both of my books, Secondary Traumatic Stress: Self-Care for Clinicians, Researchers and Educators as well as Measurement of Stress, Trauma and Adaptation.

The Green Cross. GCP) represents the humanitarian and service initiative of the Traumatology Institute. The goal of GCP (or "the Greens") is to provide immediate trauma intervention to all areas of our world when a crisis occurs. brings together health and mental health professionals from a wide array of disciplines from throughout the United States and around the world to develop cutting edge research, treatment approaches, and training programs in the field of Traumatology. The Institute oversees the dissemination of new developments through credit and non-credit continuing education courses and helps coordinate the application of these models through serving communities in Florida and around the world. In summary, the Traumatology Institute conducts research, education, and service activities toward reducing the deleterious effects of trauma on individuals, families, communities, and entire societies.

Accelerated Recovery Program For Compassion Fatigue The Accelerated Recovery Program (ARP) is a uniquely designed five-session treatment/ training protocol to assist health-care professionals in resolving their symptoms of compassion fatigue (primary traumatic stress + secondary traumatic stress + burnout).

TRAUMATOLOGYe was established in 1995 as an international electronic Journal of innovations in the study of the traumatization process and methods for reducing or eliminating related human suffering. Purpose of this peer-reviewed Journal is to disseminate new and original contributions to the traumatology field as quickly as possible to subscribers after they emerge from the field.

National Center for PTSD I worked at the National Center from 1996-1999. They have a variety of research projects in process for American War Veterans as well as other groups such as female sexual assault victims. This site has handouts for both professionals and lay persons.

International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies This is a professional Society dedicated to the study of Traumatic Stress. ISTSS hosts conferences each November and a world meeting every other year in the summer.

PILOTS Database
This may be the coolest resource in the world for Traumatic Stress. In fact, it was one of the reasons that I left Alaska and came to Vermont/New Hampshire to work. PILOTS has over 11,000 professional abstracts on TS.

Cross Cultural Community Training Manual for Survivors of Torture
This "Community Manual" has been prepared by Survivors International for service providers and community organizations in the San Francisco Bay Area. It is intended to help those who work with refugees and immigrants understand the high incidence of past torture experiences among these communities. Focus of this manual will be on the after effects of torture, symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and how to direct victims of torture to appropriate medical and psychological help.

David Baldwin's Trauma Info Pages This is the big place for tons of info. Enjoy!