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Our Impact
"This training has deeply impacted me and how I approach my work, clients, and organization. I feel that things within me have shifted with the awareness this training helped cultivate. I am incredibly grateful for the training as it came at a critical point in my professional and personal life!"
- Previous Training Participant
Evaluation of Secondary Trauma Resiliency Training at VitalHearts
Participants in the Secondary Trauma Resiliency Training are asked to complete two anonymous evaluations. The End of Training Evaluation is completed immediately after the training and the One-Month Follow-Up is completed approximately 30 days post-training.
Understanding the "Participants Ratings of Relevance and Impact" Graph:
Relevance: On a scale of 0-100%, with 100% meaning the training was totally relevant, participants rated the training as 96% relevant in the End of Training Evaluation and 92% one month later.
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Impact: On a Scale of 0-100%, with 100% meaning the training had a significant impact on the participant and their work, participants reported 92% impact in the End of Training Evaluation and 89% one month later.
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Mean scores taken from trainings held from 2019-2022.
Analysis of Evaluation Data
Prior to beginning the Secondary Trauma Resiliency Training, participants were questioned about their secondary traumatic stress reactions or symptoms.
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The amount of secondary traumatic stress reported by the participants in recent trainings was quite large: 9.3 stress reactions or symptoms per care-provider.
We ask participants about the consequences of these secondary traumatic stress reactions. 50% of those surveyed report that their effectiveness has been compromised by their secondary traumatic stress reactions or symptoms. Perhaps even more alarming, 50% of these professionals acknowledge that they have considered leaving their profession as a consequence of their vicarious trauma. These numbers are actually somewhat low – we have led trainings where the ratings of compromised-effectiveness and consideration-of-leaving were above 70%.
At the completion of the three-day training, participants rated the Relevance of the Secondary Trauma Resiliency Training to their professional life at an average (mean) of 96 on a 1-to-100 scale. Participants then rated a different measure of the training’s value, the Impact they experienced the training as having for their career. On a similar 1-to-100 scale, these professionals gave an average Impact rating of 92.
Many trainings may seem valuable while a person is in attendance, but its importance may fade once participants returns to the regular demands of their jobs. To see if the Secondary Trauma Resiliency Training does or does not suffer such a drop-off from these high evaluation scores, VitalHearts conducts a follow-up evaluation one month after the completion of the Secondary Trauma Resiliency Training. After being back at their work for a month, the participants were queried again about their assessment of the training’s Relevance and Impact. These high marks did not deflate over this period. The average Relevance score was 92 and the average Impact score was 89.
Even though the training is just a three day experience, which is obviously a minuscule amount of time compared to the length of these professionals’ careers, 56% reported at the one month follow-up that they find their work More Rewarding than before attending the training. Finally, in response to a retention-related question, 42% of those who had considered quitting their profession, indicated at the one-month follow-up, that they are less likely to leave than they were before participating in the Secondary Trauma Resiliency Training.
