Excerpt: A. Kaye:

It is inevitable in the forensic sciences that exposure to traumatic material will occur. This can happen in many ways, such as review of records, interviewing involved persons, listening to recordings of police interviews, viewing crime scene photos, or watching videos of crimes being committed. Some clinicians who work with victims of violence and trauma may experience vicarious trauma (1) with similar conditions more applicable to the clinical world, including compassion fatigue, (2) controlled empathy, (3) and burnout. (4)

The DSM-5 “A” criterion for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) includes repeated or extreme indirect exposure to aversive details of the event(s), usually in the course of professional duties (e.g., first responders, collecting body parts; professionals repeatedly exposed to details of child abuse). Full-blown PTSD in forensic experts, including psychiatric experts, is, unfortunately, common. (5, 6)

I was involved in a high-profile child abuse case with over 100 victims and hundreds of hours of videos of abuse occurring on children as young as one year old. I decided that, after just a few hours of watching the defendant’s behavior, I had seen enough to reach an opinion, and that to watch every second was unnecessary and unhealthy. I can also say that is the last time I will do such a case.

 

The material in my latest case is rather traumatizing for me to digest. Can you help?