The National Capacity Building (NCB) Project at the Center for Victims of Torture and the National Consortium of Torture Treatment Programs is pleased to announce this recorded webinar, held on January 20, 2026, on “Vicarious Trauma & Burnout: Self-Care and DBT Skills for Distress Tolerance & Emotional Regulation”.
Session Description
Burnout is common among high stress, high stakes work environments. Vicarious trauma can also be high among providers working with survivors of torture given the emotional content of survivors’ experiences. The ability to recognize signs of burnout and vicarious trauma is critical for protecting provider wellbeing and ensuring high quality clinical care. This talk will help build awareness of burnout and vicarious trauma and will provide a framework for self-care as an ethical responsibility for providers in this line of work. After providing a holistic definition of self-care, we will then explore several Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) skills and techniques focused on distress tolerance and emotional regulation, offering practical strategies providers can use to support the wellbeing of both their clients and themselves.
Learning Objectives
After attending this webinar, participants will be able to:
- Identify symptoms of vicarious trauma and burnout
- Understand the framing of self-care as an ethical responsibility
- Define a holistic concept of self-care
- Name at least three different DBT skills that can support survivors of torture and providers alike
- Use concrete DBT skills to support distress tolerance and emotional regulation
Resources
- Webinar PPT
- American Psychological Association (2026). Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct. https://www.apa.org/ethics/code
- Branson, D. C. (2019). Vicarious trauma, themes in research, and terminology: A review of literature. Traumatology, 25(1), 2–10. https://doi.org/10.1037/trm0000161
- Bryant, T. (2022). Homecoming; Healing Trauma to Reclaim Your Authentic Self. Penguin Random House.
- Bronfenbrenner, U. (1977). Toward an experimental ecology of human development. American Psychologist, 32(7), 513–531. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.32.7.513
- Deighton, R. M., Gurris, N., & Traue, H. (2007). Factors affecting burnout and compassion fatigue in psychotherapists treating torture survivors: Is the therapist’s attitude to working through trauma relevant? Journal of Traumatic Stress, 20(1), 63–75. https://doi.org/10.1002/jts.20180
- Kim, J., Chesworth, B., Franchino-Olsen, H., & Macy, R. J. (2021). A Scoping Review of Vicarious Trauma Interventions for Service Providers Working With People Who Have Experienced Traumatic Events. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 23(5), 1437-1460. https://doi.org/10.1177/1524838021991310 (Original work published 2022)
- Gandy, Debrena J. (1997). Sacred Pampering Principles. HarperCollins Publishers.
- Linehan, M. M. (2015). DBT skills training handouts and worksheets (2nd ed). Gulliford Press.
- Maslach, C., Jackson, S. E., & Leiter, M. P. (1981). Maslach Burnout Inventory: MBI. Palo Alto, CA: Consulting psychologists press.
- World Health Organization. (2013). Responding to intimate partner violence and sexual violence against women: WHO clinical and policy guidelines. World Health Organization.
- Yang, Y., & Hayes, J. A. (2020). Causes and Consequences of Burnout Among Mental Health Professionals: A Practice-Oriented Review of Recent Empirical Literature. Psychotherapy (Chicago, Ill.), 57(3), 426–436.
Presenters:
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Praise Iyiewuare, PhD, MPH , Licensed Psychologist & Postdoctoral Fellow at the Univerity of Kentucky
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Rosalie Wright-Lapin, LICSW , Program Director of New England Survivors of Torture & Trauma