To enter into a career of public service is akin to formally putting the needs of others (and the community at large) above your own. For this reason, careers in medicine, emergency services, law enforcement, and social work tend to attract people with a certain mindset. Altruistic and service oriented, these individuals are driven by empathy to help others. All too often, however, the people who professionally provide care for others are the same people who struggle to ask for help themselves.<\/p>\n
Vicarious Trauma<\/p>\n
First responders, medical personnel, and those who work in or adjacent to the criminal justice system are routinely exposed to the physical and psychological distress of those they serve. Trauma does not have to be directly experienced for it to have an impact; being a repetitive witness to it can also take its toll (Rousseau, 2026). Referred to as \u201cvicarious\u201d or \u201csecondary\u201d trauma, the buildup of stress from continuous exposure to violence or trauma presents an ongoing occupational challenge for many of those in public service roles. In bearing witness, practitioners can develop symptoms similar to post traumatic stress disorder, including hypervigilance, guilt, avoidance, sleep disturbances, addiction, and more (Rousseau, 2026). Maintaining resilience, the ability to adapt to stress and maintain psychological wellbeing in the face of adversity (SAMHSA, 2018), throughout these repeated exposures becomes critical for career longevity.<\/p>\n
The Wounded Healer<\/p>\n
Stress management for public servants rarely involves speaking about it openly. Why do so many \u201cprofessional helpers\u201d have a hard time asking for assistance themselves? Historical stigmatization and fear of penalization have resulted in the internalization of vicarious trauma as a private, personal ordeal, especially in law enforcement fields where self-control, emotional stoicism, and hypermasculinity are expected (and even encouraged). Another explanation is the \u201cWounded Healer\u201d archetype popularized by psychiatrist Carl Jung in the 1950s (Jung, 1954). Taking inspiration from Greek mythology\u2019s Chiron, a centaur who can heal others but not himself, Jung characterizes the Wounded Healer as an individual whose personal experience with adversity permits them greater empathy and insight for helping others (Mehta, 2024). A profound sense of meaning can be derived from helping others. The idea of being barred from doing so due to declining mental health could be another potential reason for keeping struggles to oneself.<\/p>\n
This archetypical explanation is more retrospective than circumspective, however. That is, it better explains why some people choose public service (aware of the challenges associated with such fields), rather than why they may not recognize signs of struggle within themselves enough to ask for help. A meta-analysis published in 2021 found there exists a relationship between prior adverse experiences and vocational decisions in those who go into helping professions (Bryce et al.). Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and cumulative trauma have long-lasting effects, including the desire to understand and derive meaning from enduring\/surviving trauma. Early family dysfunction, parentification, and traits developed through adversity (e.g. altruism, empathy, sensitivity to others\u2019 distress or vulnerability) were each associated with career choice in public service (Bryce et al., 2021). In short, the “Wounded Healer” is someone drawn to the helping professions as a way to remedy prior traumatic experiences or to prevent others from having to experience the same. The latter \u201cpreventionist\u201d mindset is truly what stops them from asking for help. Role reversal away from being the \u201crescuer\u201d may feel like an existential threat to their entire identity.<\/p>\n
Deriving meaning from your career is not inherently harmful. Meaningful work can encourage engagement and genuine fulfillment in life. It is when the job becomes entirely tied up in your self-worth that resilience begins to fall away and burnout can set in. For this reason, healthy coping mechanisms and self-care are vital for those at risk for vicarious trauma.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
References<\/p>\n
Bryce, I., Pye, D., Beccaria, G., McIlveen, P., & Du Preez, J. (2021). A systematic literature review of the career choice of helping professionals who have experienced cumulative harm as a result of adverse childhood experiences. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse<\/em>, 24<\/em>(1). https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/15248380211016016<\/a><\/p>\n Jung, C. G. (1954). The Collected Works of C. G. Jung: The Practice of Psychotherapy<\/em> (Vol. 16). Pantheon Books. https:\/\/s3.us-west-1.wasabisys.com\/luminist\/EB\/I-J-K\/Jung%20-%20The%20Practice%20of%20Psychotherapy.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n Mehta, D. H. (2024). Nurturing resilience in the wounded healer. In Psychiatric Times<\/em>. https:\/\/www.psychiatrictimes.com\/view\/nurturing-resilience-in-the-wounded-healer<\/a><\/p>\n Rousseau, D. (2026). MET CJ720 \u2013 Module 1 \u2013 Introduction to Trauma [Online module]. Blackboard Ultra. Boston University.<\/p>\n Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2018). First Responders: Behavioral Health Concerns, Emergency Response, and Trauma<\/em>. In Disaster Technical Assistance Center Supplemental Research Bulletin. https:\/\/www.samhsa.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/dtac\/supplementalresearchbulletin firstresponders-may2018.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" To enter into a career of public service is akin to formally putting the needs of others (and the community at large) above your own. For this reason, careers in medicine, emergency services, law enforcement, and social work tend to attract people with a certain mindset. Altruistic and service oriented, these individuals are driven by […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26278,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2],"tags":[56],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/daniellerousseau\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3367"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/daniellerousseau\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/daniellerousseau\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/daniellerousseau\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/26278"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/daniellerousseau\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3367"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/daniellerousseau\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3367\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3368,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/daniellerousseau\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3367\/revisions\/3368"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/daniellerousseau\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3367"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/daniellerousseau\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3367"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/daniellerousseau\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3367"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}