Date
4-2022
Department
Rawlings School of Divinity
Degree
Doctor of Ministry (DMin)
Chair
Charity Williams
Keywords
Compassion Fatigue, Secondary Traumatic Stress, Self-Care, Trauma-Informed Care, Law Enforcement Chaplain, Compassion Fatigue
Disciplines
Counseling | Medicine and Health Sciences
Recommended Citation
Jones-Ramirez, Angela Teresa, "Compassion Fatigue: The Effects of Secondary Traumatic Stress and Vicarious Traumatization Among Baltimore Police Department Community Chaplains" (2022). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 3556.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/3556
Abstract
Baltimore is plagued with a history of high crime, violence, and murder resulting in trauma. The purpose of the Doctor of Ministry action research project was to educate Baltimore Police Department (BPD) Community Chaplains concerning compassion fatigue while maintaining effective quality care. A two-day workshop was developed as an intervention to address the problem. Pretest and posttest surveys were administered using the Professional Quality of Life Scale, Version 5, and the Skovholt Professional Practitioner Resiliency and Self-Care Inventory. Data in the form of surveys, group notes, field notes, recorded testimonials, and stories were collected and analyzed. Results of the data yielded minimal significant increase in the knowledge of compassion fatigue thereby increasing the effectiveness and quality of the BPD Community Chaplains. The results demonstrated a divergence from the expectation of the researcher. Instead of demonstrating compassion fatigue, the results demonstrated moderate to high levels of compassion satisfaction for the majority of the BPD Community Chaplains. There is a cost associated with caring for the traumatized. Those who serve the traumatized should be trauma-informed, and practice adequate self-care. Those individuals who are trauma- informed and practice self-care may experience compassion satisfaction. For future study, the researcher offers the recommendations of repeating the study in a post Covid Pandemic, face-to-face format, with revisions to the design of the intervention such as increased time of engagement with the content material, while inviting all BPD Community Chaplains from each of the nine districts throughout the city to participate in the research project.
