Wounded Healer

One of my favourite things about research is when you find out that your experience is more universal than you thought, that there are other far distant researchers interested and pursuing with passion the same hunch you have; who have had similar experiences to you. It definitely lights a fire in your belly – more so when there’s only a little amount done, with a huge scope for a lot more.

I’ve experienced first hand from working in social care and growing up around it (quite literally growing up in a family-run care home Landermeads ran by my mum Ros Heath), how prevalent personal experiences of mental health, adverse experiences, and trauma, are amongst social workers. As a young social worker myself, I have worked closely with other passionate and inspiring social workers who have shared openly and honestly with me about their personal struggles.

Many of them (social workers, nurses, care leaders, ancillary staff) have reflected on why this has brought them, and made them stay, in front-line caring roles. They really feel the benefit of supporting vulnerable others. They understand what it’s like to be vulnerable and need support, and perhaps not receive it, and want to give that privilege to another.

The concept of the “wounded healer” is nothing new. Carl Jung first came up with the term to refer to individuals who seek to heal their own pain and trauma by helping others (1). Research dating back to 1994 highlights that a contributing factor in the decision to pursue a career in social work is an individual’s trauma history (2). The idea is more widely and commonly explored amongst psychologists and therapists (3). However, of recent, research reveals that rates of adverse childhood experiences amongst social workers are much higher than those found in general population samples (4), university students, child welfare employees (5), and business students (6).

So, why is this important?

It helps us to understand how to support those workers – particularly younger workers – who are more likely to gravitate and stay in front-line social work roles. Firstly, it’s important to consider the vulnerability of this cohort and their risk of emotional distress from hearing about or helping others who have experienced trauma (secondary traumatic stress (7) ). Exposure to trauma or emotional strain through practice may cause a resurgence of negative feelings and emotions, impacting on their ability to meaningfully engage with work as well as put them at increased risk of mental health conditions.

This understanding can help us to create work environments with robust support systems, including mentorship, counselling services, and peer support groups, to help individuals navigate the emotional challenges associated with their trauma histories.

Safe and supportive environments to flourish

Research has explored the role of embedded trauma-informed principles within course content and training (8,9). Educators increased sensitivity to social care students’ potential trauma histories can help to nurture a safe and supportive environment with lowered risk of re-traumatisation and improved resilience to trauma-sensitive environments (10).

Care providers can adopt and elect for more trauma-informed training to offer ongoing support for social care workers in the profession, as well as spreading awareness amongst other workers, enabling them with the tools to support others and create positive work environments for this group.

In recent literature, the term ‘wounded healer’ has been employed to describe the experience of social workers (11).I like one social work educator’s reflections in an article, on how, through the notion of the wounded healer, we can more accurately identify our most vulnerable students, including their strengths and challenges both in the classroom and in their placements (12). Written in 2022, she reflects on her own experience and understanding of the research, sharing that whilst there is a plenitude of research on field education and trauma informed pedagogy, there is a gap in the literature on the student’s point of view, and how we – as a collective (educators, providers, and researchers) – can better support them.

This feels like a good place to end, what is hopefully an insightful reflection into this unique and powerful characteristic of social workers, and a call for more work to be done to understand and hear from the perspectives of ‘wounded’ social care workers themselves. If you are a researcher, social care provider, or social worker yourself, I hope this gives you a little fire in your belly to follow this hunch further.

References

[1] Newcomb M, Burton J, Edwards N, Hazelwood Z. How Jung’s concept of the wounded healer can guide learning and teaching in social work and human services. Soc Work Welf Educ. 2015;17:55-69.

[2] Rompf EL, Royse D. Choice of social work as a career: possible influences. J Soc Work Educ. 1994;30(2):163-171. Available from: http://www.jstor.org/stable/23042964

[3] Black TG. Teaching trauma without traumatizing: a pilot study of a graduate counseling psychology cohort. Traumatology. 2008;4(3):40-50.

[4] Dykes, G. (2016). Coping, resilience and posttraumatic growth: Adverse Childhood Experiences and Social Work Students. The Social Work Practitioner-Researchers, 28(1), 18-35.

[5] Thomas JT. Adverse childhood experiences among MSW students. J Teach Soc Work. 2016;36(3):235-255. doi: 10.1080/08841233.2016.1182609

[6] Black PN, Jeffreys D, Hartley EK. Personal history of psychosocial trauma in the early life of social work and business students. J Soc Work Educ. 1993;29(2):171-180. doi: 10.1080/10437797.1993.10778812

[7] Anat Ben-Porat, Shahar Shemesh, Ronit Reuven Even Zahav, Shelly Gottlieb, Tehila Refaeli, Secondary Traumatization Among Social Work Students—The Contribution of Personal, Professional, and Environmental Factors, The British Journal of Social Work, Volume 51, Issue 3, April 2021, Pages 982–998, https://doi.org/10.1093/bjsw/bcaa056

[8] Dal Santo LC, Easton SD, Coleman S, Flinton K. The role of field education in preparing social work students for trauma-informed care: A scoping review. J Soc Work Educ. 2023;60(3):310-333. doi: 10.1080/10437797.2023.2215273.

[9] Strand VC, Abramovitz R, Layne CM, Robinson H, Way I. Meeting the critical need for trauma education in social work: A problem-based learning approach. J Soc Work Educ. 2014;50(1):120-135. doi: 10.1080/10437797.2014.856235.

[10] Cavener J, McGhee S, McGhee D, McGhee M. Enhancing 'best practice' in trauma-informed social work education. Soc Work Educ. 2022;43(2):163–176. doi:10.1080/02615479.2022.2091128. Available from: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02615479.2022.2091128

[11] Dutta D. Why students enter social work: Embracing the “wounded healer”. In: Tufford L, Dylan A, editors. Trauma-Informed Care in Social Work Education: Implications for Students, Educators, Pedagogy, and Field. 1st ed. New York: Routledge; 2025. p. 18. doi: 10.4324/9781003311768-37. Available from: https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781003311768-37/students-enter-social-work-debashis-dutta

[12]A reflection on Social Work Students as the «Wounded Healer» – Relational Social Work