“It’s not exactly burnout - I still love the work. And it’s not secondary post-traumatic stress disorder. But I’m keyed up all the time. What’s going on?” Michelle (trauma therapist)

There’s something going on with trauma therapists. The COVID-19 pandemic seems to have ushered in a new era where trauma is a human universal. For the past several years, trauma therapists have been saturated with the needs of those who suffer, while also trying to navigate substantial loss and changes in their own lives. This chronic strain is resulting in something that has not yet been named. It’s not exactly burnout, because the work continues to be deeply meaningful, and providers continue to access empathy. It’s not secondary PTSD and it’s not just cumulative stress. After years of overextending themselves, at personal cost, many therapists are deeply concerned about the potential for AI to supplant them and eliminate their livelihood.

A “syndrome” is not a diagnosis, but rather a term for a condition characterized by a set of associated symptoms. “Trauma Therapist Syndrome” manifests in these symptoms and common experiences:

• Disrupted sleep, nighttime agitation and restlessness

• Difficulty taking long, slow breaths with ease

• Increased irritability, a ‘hair trigger’ hot temper response to normal life frustrations

• “Stealth anxiety” where a sense of dread is a constant backdrop to daily activities

• Difficulty downshifting to a calm and relaxed state

• Loss of emotional “range” (for instance, increased numbness/apathy in response to distressing events)

• Heightened distractibility

• Increased distress or feelings of being overwhelmed around the need to multi-task

• Feelings of disconnection from oneself and others

• A perceived shift in one’s identity or personality (“I used to feel hopeful about the future, but I’m not sure anymore”)

Some of these experiences overlap with trauma symptoms, and all of them relate to nervous system changes that are logical, predictable results of feeling perpetually over-extended, saturated by patients’ trauma narratives, and anxious about how AI is changing the landscape of care.

In this 2-hour session, we’ll dive into each of these impacts. In addition, we'll discuss how a treatment used in Special Forces to reset the adrenaline system may give trauma therapists a long-overdue “reset.” We'll cover theory and research as well as the safety and efficacy of this treatment, and will share my own experience receiving this procedure.