Surge in life-or-death calls takes toll on domestic violence crisis line workers
NBC News, October 2, 2021
The stress affecting direct service staffers who work with domestic violence survivors could lead to long-term psychological and emotional challenges, like burnout or secondary traumatic stress. NBC News interviewed Leila Wood, a social work researcher and associate professor at UTMB, who has studied the issue. “For front-line advocates, they’re interfacing with partners who are using violence, who are coming on-site, and there are real threats to safety, if you're working in an emergency shelter,” Wood said. “So, some of that anxiety is actually not secondary traumatic stress or burnout. It’s real adaptive safety concerns.” Other news outlets, including MSN.com and Yahoo! News, also ran this story.