Special features of treatment and self-care for trauma therapists

Not every therapist considers himself suitable and willing to work with the difficult group of trauma patients. The horrors, losses and damages that one is confronted with as a therapist can lead to states of stress ("secondary trauma" or witness trauma) that justify a separate chapter on how to cope with these challenges. The particular difficulties of patients who have been victims of interpersonal violence in particular therefore play an important role. The aversive interpersonal consequences of traumatisation also manifest themselves in therapeutic contact and can considerably impair the success of therapy if the problems associated with it are not adequately reflected.