It has been suggested that a unique feature of some mental heath practitioners' work is exposure through their role as therapists to clients' descriptions of and reactions to trauma, and that these experiences may actually indirectly cause distress and traumatization to the therapist. This proposed phenomenon has been termed "vicarious traumatization" (VT) and is the focus of the current review. The concept of VT, together with other related concepts such as "burnout," "compassion fatigue," "secondary traumatic stress" (STS), and "work stress" are appraised. Psychological mechanisms that might be theoretically involved in VT are considered. The measurement of VT is reviewed alongside the limited research evidence supporting its existence. Factors such as direct trauma exposure and the personal attributes of mental health workers, which have been suggested to be associated with VT, are also assessed. It is concluded that the evidence to support the existence of VT is meager and inconsistent. Future research needs to be directed at distinguishing VT from other sources of distress arising within the workplace. Finally, the organizational relevance of VT and its possible implications for the management of mental health workers are critically appraised.

中文翻译：

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替代性创伤：对卫生工作者的心理健康有何影响？

有人建议，某些精神健康从业者的工作的独特之处是通过他们作为治疗师的角色接触来访者对创伤的描述和反应，而这些经验实际上可能间接地给治疗师造成困扰和创伤。这种提议的现象被称为“战伤”（VT），并且是当前审查的重点。评估了VT的概念以及其他相关概念，例如“倦怠”，“同伴疲劳”，“继发性创伤压力”（STS）和“工作压力”。考虑可能在理论上涉及室速的心理机制。VT的测量与支持其存在的有限研究证据一起进行了回顾。还评估了直接创伤暴露和精神卫生工作者的个人属性等因素，这些因素被认为与室速有关。结论是，支持VT存在的证据很少且不一致。未来的研究需要针对将室速与工作场所内产生的其他困扰源区分开来。最后，对室速的组织相关性及其对精神卫生工作者管理的潜在影响进行了严格评估。