After a traumatic event, hospital, school and university police and security officers, teachers, administrators and clinicians often are so focused on their students and patients that they forget about their own well-being. Even if campus first responders and staff aren’t directly affected by a tragedy, they can still experience secondary trauma and develop Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

Unfortunately, many first responders think they are weak if they ask for help. They might also have an exaggerated sense of responsibility to victims.

According to Rick Levinson, Viviana Urdaneta and Viviana Triana, who are psychologists who specialize in the treatment of trauma, both of these responses to traumatic events may be symptoms of PTSD. Experiencing PTSD does not mean someone is weak or emotionally defective. Levinson, Urdaneta and Triana say, “it’s a brain thing” that often is the result of trauma.

At the Conference on Crimes Against Women (CCAW) that was held in Dallas April 4-6, 2016, these three psychologists discussed the impact and treatment of trauma for survivors, as well as all professionals who help survivors recover from tragedy.

In this video interview with Campus Safety magazine, Levinson, Urdaneta and Triana discuss these and other specific challenges faced by police officers, security officers, nurses, counselors, teachers and other professionals who respond to traumatic events in their communities, as well as the need for these individuals to get help when they experience trauma, either directly or indirectly.

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