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Secondary Trauma Of Lay Mental Health Workers In Low Resource Locations: Bukavu, Janny Jinor

Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences

A general consensus exists in the literature that working with a trauma population will produce negative personal, psychological, and professional consequences including secondary trauma. However, a significant research gap occurs with regard to how secondary trauma affects psychosocial assistants (PAs) who work in low-resource and conflict-stricken Bukavu in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The DRC is plagued by psychological problems resulting from numerous past and ongoing conflicts, but sufficient trained mental health personnel and resources are lacking. As a result, the dire responsibility of providing mental health services to survivors of rape has shifted to minimally trained PAs. This …