Evaluating Secondary Traumatic Stress on Victim Advocates Using the Helpfulness Rating on Service Intake Forms as a Scale

Abstract

This report examines how advocates have utilized a “helpfulness” rating on service intake forms to evaluate the degree of secondary traumatic stress that the on-call advocate has experienced. Using in-depth, semi-structured interviews, this report finds that the "helpfulness" rating is often employed by advocate and program coordinators to evaluate secondary traumatic stress, and those who report "unhelpful" and do not receive follow-up by their supervisor are more likely to leave the advocacy field shortly after a difficult case. The report offers recommendations for coordinators to decrease secondary traumatic stress among their advocates by developing organizational supports.