Trauma is contagious; its powerful affect and frequently unformulated memories can be transmitted, often mysteriously and largely non-verbally within families, across generations, and from patient to clinician. In this lecture, I propose a way of understanding how vicarious traumatization occurs. Despite its often powerful and disorienting impact, in psychodynamic treatment working through the vicarious traumatization, in the treatment setting itself, is essential to helping the survivor of a massive psychic trauma recognize and come to terms with the experience. Case material will be used to demonstrate those situations in which vicarious traumatization can be addressed in treatment and those in which other means must be found.
