Secondary trauma and ethical obligations for military psychologists: preserving compassion and competence in the crucible of combat

• Published in: Psychological services Vol. 11; no. 1; p. 68
• Main Authors: Johnson, W Brad, Bertschinger, Michael, Snell, Alicia K, Wilson, Amber
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 01.02.2014
• Subjects: Attitude of Health Personnel; Clinical Competence; Codes of Ethics; Empathy; Fatigue - psychology; Humans; Military Personnel - psychology; Physician Impairment; Psychology, Military - ethics; Self Care - methods; Self-Assessment; Social Responsibility; Social Support; Stress Disorders, Traumatic - etiology; Stress Disorders, Traumatic - psychology; Wounds and Injuries - psychology; Wounds and Injuries - therapy
• ISSN: 1939-148X
• DOI: 10.1037/a0033913

Current ethical guidelines require psychologists to self-assess competence and take steps to limit or discontinue clinical work when they can no longer render competent care. Yet even in the best of circumstances, human beings--psychologists included--are not very good at evaluating their own performance. Moreover, when psychologists are deployed to combat zones and work constantly with severely traumatized and injured service members, evidence suggests that they become vulnerable to compassion fatigue and secondary trauma syndromes. In this article, we consider the unique threats to competence faced by military clinical psychologists. We conclude with several specific recommendations for deployed military clinical psychologists themselves and for the community leaders tasked with training and supervising them.