Student Affairs NOW Understanding the Cost of Caring: Vicarious Trauma in Student Affairs
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Oct 22, 2025 
Dr. Jill Bassett-Cameron, Senior Equity and Inclusion Officer at Central Connecticut State University, dives into vicarious trauma in helping professions. She distinguishes it from burnout and highlights how daily exposure can affect student affairs professionals. Jill discusses tools from other fields that higher education lacks, shares protective practices like venting and sensory rituals, and advocates for curriculum changes. Finally, she reframes the cost of caring as a strength, empowering practitioners to embrace their experiences with pride.
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Vicarious Trauma Is A Distinct, Holistic Experience
- Vicarious trauma is the holistic impact on helpers after hearing others' trauma and affects cognition, body, and spirit.
- It sits between compassion satisfaction and burnout on a pendulum and can precede compassion fatigue.
Self-Care Alone Won't Fix Vicarious Trauma
- Self-care is necessary but insufficient to treat vicarious trauma; it's like brushing teeth while the trauma is the cavity.
- Addressing vicarious trauma requires interventions beyond individual self-care rituals.
Validation Normalizes The Cost Of Caring
- Validation and normalizing language matter; practitioners need to hear that vicarious trauma is a normal response, not a weakness.
- You can hold grit and acknowledge trauma simultaneously without losing professional competence.