Instructor:
Janika N. Joyner is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) in Chesapeake, Virginia who specializes in trauma as a Certified Clinical Trauma Professional (CCTP) through the International Association of Trauma Professionals (IATP). She earned her Master of Social Work with a Clinical Concentration from Norfolk State University in 2012 and is currently pursuing her doctoral degree in Social Work. She is also approved to provide supervision towards Clinical Social Work Licensure in the state of Virginia.
Janika founded Higher Elevation Psychosocial Services, LLC in 2017 to address the effects that adverse childhood experiences have on the mind, body, and spirit. Janika has a special interest in working with adolescent girls and women who have experienced trauma, issues with adjustment, coping with stress, grief/loss, anxiety and an array of other mental health issues.
Janika currently serves on the Chesapeake Interagency Consortium (CIC) Board as the private provider representative. She has spoken at local, state and national conferences as a panelist, presenter and host.
Janika is an Amazon best-selling author, speaker, and psychotherapist. She has been featured in HuffPost, Seventeen, Bustle, Fatherly, Elite Daily and Successful Black Parenting Magazine.
She is an advocate for writing in a journal and believes that therapy can be fun, life changing and rewarding. In her free time Janika enjoys spending time with her husband and 3 sons.
For more information reach out to Janika at www.higherelevation-va.com
Pandemic, Racial Reckoning Contributing to Vicarious Traumatization in Social Workers, Says October 23 VT Instructor
NASW Virginia/Metro DC instructor Janika Joyner, LCSW, knows how passionate her fellow social workers can be about their jobs and clients, but this commitment can also come at a price: vicarious trauma (VT) or, as she calls it, the "cost of caring for those with whom we as (helpers, treaters, and professionals) work.”
Most commonly, therapists, counselors, first responders, firefighters, police officers, emergency room doctors, social work clinicians, and nurses all can experience this gradual process, which occurs when an individual is constantly exposed to the traumatic stories of others.
Over time, the helper’s outlook becomes negative, contributing to feelings of hopelessness and helplessness. The current state of America is adding to the risk of VT, in Joyner’s opinion: “… [The] pandemic, coupled with racial injustice and the impact on the economy, can contribute to an increase in VT for the social workers being exposed to trauma narratives daily.”
Lack of training by social work schools and other institutions also means many social workers are unaware of VT and its impacts, she continues, although she’s pleased that discussion about VT has grown during the past decade. In fact, she invites senior social work students to attend the course “so they can learn to anticipate VT, manage it, and become great social workers in the field.”
A common misconception about VT, she continues, “is that it means the social worker is not cut out for this type of work, or they are weak. That is not the case. If you really care about your work, it will impact you. Organizations should create cultures that welcome discussing VT and encourage the discussion further in supervision.
“VT impacts individuals in various ways and can be experienced in levels: low, medium, high, or somewhere in between. For example, a person who is new to being a trauma therapist may have no or low VT, [while a] person who has been a trauma therapist for five years and needs a vacation has a high level of VT.”
Fortunately, more social workers are recognizing the importance of training in VT, she says. “I have conducted these trainings numerous times, and new and seasoned social workers provide positive feedback and are thankful for the information and reminders. Recently, research has begun to address the positive growth that can come from the work social workers do; it’s called ‘vicarious transformation.’”
Joyner plans to explain more in her October 23 course, which will enable attendees “to identify the signs and symptoms of VT and … to recognize how VT can impact their behaviors, interpersonal relationships, and job performance.”
