The impact of vicarious trauma, secondary trauma, compassion fatigue, and burnout on Indigenous social workers

Social workers fulfill vital roles, providing services to clients from vulnerable populations and maintaining their welfare. As a result of frequent interaction with clients who have often experienced trauma, these workers are susceptible to experiencing vicarious trauma, secondary traumatic stress, compassion fatigue and burnout. Social work practice with Indigenous people and communities is generally regarded as complex, with workers often engaging with communities that are experiencing significant disadvantage. This literature review examines the various forms of trauma suffered by Indigenous front-line social workers, as well as the selfcare practices and resilience of Indigenous social workers.