The FBI’s forensic psychologists work with upsetting incidents both in the field and at their stations. Burnout is a major risk factor for forensic psychologists. Due to contacts with aggressive criminal offenders, forensic psychologists in the field run the danger of receiving a significant bodily harm or perhaps dying afterwards. Additionally, dealing with the danger of trauma associated with criminal cases is something forensic psychologists must do in the course of their work. In such situation, addressing high-profile cases in their profession or training puts forensic psychology practitioners at a greater risk of direct trauma exposure, also known as vicarious trauma (Pirelli et al., 2020). For instance, a forensic psychologist working as an FBI agent is likely to witness mass killings of unarmed individuals in hostage situations. For the practitioner, the trauma may result in both short- and long-term mental health problems. Additionally, according to Pirelli et al. (2020), a forensic psychologist runs the danger of indirectly experiencing the same traumatic incident as a client. Being forced to relive a client’s traumatic experiences may be extremely draining for forensic psychiatrists who are also people. For instance, coming into contact with a serial murderer survivor inadvertently might be traumatic. As a consequence, working with trauma exposes forensic psychologists to mental anguish, and direct field work puts us in danger of serious bodily harm or even death.
Establishing clear boundaries between the practitioner and the client is an essential self-care activity. Pirelli et al. (2020) claim that setting clear professional boundaries with customers may reduce the risk of trauma-related hazards by preventing one from being overwhelmed by the pain and anguish of those clients outside of the workplace. A forensic psychologist’s professional development allows them to interact with clients’ emotions while preventing any psychological issues that can impair their capacity to think properly. The practitioner must understand their responsibility to support the client as they work through their trauma without being impacted by it. A practitioner must network with other professionals in order to manage traumatic situations and improve professionalism (Pirelli et al., 2020). To cope with the trauma risk posed by clients, forensic psychologists might build coping strategies with the aid of seasoned specialists.
As a kind of self-care, forensic psychologists must tend to their physical and mental requirements. In order to maintain a healthy mind and body balance and avoid discomfort and other irritability-related effects in their professional work, practitioners need to have improved self-awareness (Garry, 2022). It’s important for forensic psychologists to get adequate sleep and follow a nutrition plan in order to maintain good mental and physical health. When a practitioner doesn’t take a break from their profession to unwind, it leads to fatigue and burnout. A practitioner should determine when their body needs to rest as part of their self-care regimen to avoid being exhausted. Forensic psychologists must seek therapeutic help when dealing with traumatic events connected to their job in order to prevent acting irrationally and risking a negative reputation. Therefore, regular care for the body and mind is essential for a forensic psychology practice.
Finally, forensic psychologists must pinpoint their own personal trauma triggers. Practitioners should engage in a self-discovery exercise to identify environmental triggers that may jeopardize their ability to do their jobs effectively (Gary, 2022). Some individuals find it impossible to handle the sight of blood, even in fiction. When practitioners are ignorant of the environmental triggers that make them susceptible to a client’s trauma and other crime scene events, they are more vulnerable to trauma (Gary, 2022). The practitioner must as a consequence examine oneself and discover personal and environmental factors that might expose them to trauma. The practitioner may create self-coping techniques to reduce the dangers related to the diagnosed trauma with the use of self-discovery. Since forensic psychology is a risk-taking field, practitioners must learn coping skills to prevent the accompanying bodily and psychological traumas.
References
Gary, T. (2022). Burnout in the field of forensic psychology and intervention techniques. Dissertations, 701, 1-66, https://digitalcommons.nl.edu/diss/701
Pirelli, G., Formon, D L., & Maloney, K. (2020). Preventing vicarious trauma (VT), compassion fatigue (CF), and burnout (BO) in forensic mental health: Forensic psychology exemplar. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 51(5), 1-13, https://dx.doi.org/10.1037/pro0000293
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