Investigation of secondary trauma and coping attitudes in psychosocial support professionals: Suggestions for social policy

This study aims to examine the secondary trauma experiences and coping skills of psychosocial support professionals using qualitative research methods and to reveal the necessary social policy practices. The model of the study was constructed with the phenomenology design of qualitative research in order to focus on the experiences of psychosocial professionals. In this context, data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 20 experts working in the psychosocial field. The collected data were analysed by thematic analysis method, one of the qualitative research methods. As a result of the analysis, 4 main themes were formed. Within the framework of the theme under the experiences of psychosocial professionals, patterns emerged regarding secondary trauma, challenging experiences and the impact of these experiences. Within the framework of this theme, it is seen that not all experts have secondary trauma experience, but they have experiences similar to secondary traumatic stress reactions as challenging experiences. Within the framework of the theme of the nature of the profession, it is seen that the patterns in which the experts provide professional and personal satisfaction besides the challenging effect of their work are shaped. It is observed that within the framework of the psychosocial support professional theme within the system, the tendency of experts to evaluate institutional mechanisms and supports at positive and negative levels differs, and they need support at a systematic level within the scope of training and supervision. As the last theme, coping, detailed patterns of the experts' coping with work stress through individual self-care and social support networks, as well as their needs for support in terms of institutional support resources were captured. The details on how the stated needs can be constructed within the framework of social policy are discussed under the heading of recommendations.