Correctional Officer Responses to Workplace Trauma: Refining the Vicarious Trauma Toolkit

Abstract

The Vicarious Trauma Toolkit (VTT) was created as a mental health resource for first-responders such as police officers and fire fighters who are routinely exposed to vicarious workplace trauma. While VTT services are appropriate for these occupational groups, they seem less so for correctional officers who are also exposed to secondary trauma at work. To widen the VTT’s reach to a correctional context, open-ended questionnaire data gathered from correctional officers ( N = 193) working in a Southeastern state prison system were analyzed inductively to understand the different types of trauma they encounter in their job, and their responses to trauma. Respondents cited both direct and vicarious trauma sources, including assaults, self-injury, and suicide. Their responses were categorized as either negative (alcohol use), neutral (professional detachment), or positive (gratefulness). Additional VTT resources that can reach an international audience of frontline workers are proposed in light of these findings.