Specialty · Secondary trauma
Secondary trauma and compassion fatigue.
You might recognize this
Some of this sounds familiar.
You feel dread before a shift, even when you cannot point to one event that caused it.
You notice numbness or cynicism and wonder what happened to the part of you that used to care.
A patient, caller, or scene follows you home even though the event did not happen directly to you.
You feel nothing during a hard call, then react strongly to something small later.
You keep functioning at work but have less patience, attention, or emotional space at home.
How I help
The work, unhurried.
You do not have to prove that someone else’s trauma counts as yours. Therapy can address what your work has asked you to carry and help you decide what you want to feel differently.
Secondary trauma can develop through repeated contact with fear, grief, injury, death, and crisis. Nurses and physicians may carry a patient’s outcome into the next room. Dispatchers may hear terror without seeing how the story ends. Medics may move from one person’s worst moment directly into another. The exposure is indirect in some ways, but your nervous system still receives it.
Compassion fatigue can show up as a shrinking capacity to stay emotionally present. You may become cynical, detached, impatient, or unusually blunt. You may dread the next shift or feel guilty because a call no longer reaches you. Therapy makes room to name those changes without treating them as a character flaw. Numbness can be protective when there has been too much to absorb.
We begin by looking at what is happening now: sleep, irritability, alcohol or drug use, concentration, relationships, and the transition between work and home. Solution-focused therapy helps turn that picture into clear goals and practical next steps. You can notice where some capacity remains, what already helps after a difficult shift, and which small changes deserve attention first.
EMDR and Accelerated Resolution Therapy can be considered when particular voices, images, outcomes, or moments keep returning. Both use guided eye movements, with a plan chosen together. You do not have to narrate every detail. The goal is not to erase care or make you indifferent. The work gives the memories a place to be addressed instead of asking you to carry them into every new shift.
Pacing matters because you still have a job and a life outside therapy. We can spend time building steadiness before processing a memory, pause when current demands are high, and keep the work connected to what you need at home. Therapy is individual, private, and separate from any department, agency, or hospital.
You can meet in person in Midvale or by telehealth anywhere in Utah. A free consultation gives you space to ask how this approach could fit your role. You can also read about cumulative trauma, PTSD and trauma therapy, and who I help before deciding whether to book.
If you’re in crisis, call or text 988, or call 911.
What to expect
- A free 15-minute call — no pressure, just see if we fit.
- Honest intake — your story, your goals, your pace.
- 50-minute sessions, weekly or biweekly.
- Telehealth anywhere in Utah, or in-person in Midvale.
The practical part
Where
Telehealth across Utah, or in-person in Midvale.
Investment
$150 per 50-minute session. Out-of-network superbill on request. No referral needed.
First step
A free 15-minute call to see if we're a fit.
FAQ
Common questions.
Is secondary trauma the same as PTSD?+
They can overlap, but they are not identical. Secondary trauma describes the effects of repeated exposure to other people’s traumatic experiences. Your concerns and goals guide the work rather than requiring you to arrive with a label.
What if I feel numb instead of upset?+
Numbness can be one way your system limits what it takes in. You can address it without forcing emotion or judging yourself for how you adapted.
Can EMDR or ART address a story I heard rather than witnessed?+
They may be considered for a voice, image, outcome, or moment that remains distressing. You and Brian decide together whether either approach fits.
Where are sessions available?+
Individual therapy is available in person in Midvale and by telehealth anywhere in Utah.
Caring about the work and feeling worn down by it can both be true.
Brian Lewis, LCMHC · Midvale, Utah · Telehealth across Utah · Utah LCMHC license #5497978-6009