This course does not offer CE Credits. The same course is available for purchase and offers 3 CE hours for behavioral health clinicians. See "related products" below.
If you’re feeling emotionally drained, irritable, or detached after helping others—you’re not alone, and it’s not a personal failing. It’s the cost of caring deeply in a profession that exposes you to relentless suffering. Left unchecked, secondary trauma, compassion fatigue, and burnout can silently erode your well-being, judgment, and sense of purpose.
This self-paced course offers clinicians practical strategies to recognize, reduce, and recover from the harmful impact of secondary trauma stress, compassion fatigue, and burnout—essential tools for sustaining your clinical effectiveness and personal wellness.
Dr. Vanessa Snyder and Dr. Dan Sartor are leading experts in trauma recovery and seasoned clinicians with decades of combined experience. Their academic leadership, clinical insight, and dedication to trauma-informed care make them uniquely qualified to teach the complexities of vicarious trauma and self-preservation in high-empathy professions.
This course guides participants through an integrative and practical model that highlights evidence-based interventions, trauma recovery frameworks, and telemental health applications. Drs. Snyder and Sartor combine clinical theory with real-world examples and actionable techniques.
Topics explored include the distinct yet overlapping features of secondary traumatic stress (STS), compassion fatigue (CF), burnout (BO), and vicarious trauma (VT); personal and professional risk factors for STS and CF; ethical self-care and the Green Cross Standards; organizational consequences of compassion fatigue; strategies for trauma desensitization; and the role of positive coping, caregiver resilience, and compassion satisfaction in promoting long-term professional well-being.
Key Takeaways:
Clarify complex clinical concepts: Learn how to distinguish between STS, CF, BO, and VT with precision.
Strengthen your clinical sustainability: Discover how to detect your personal vulnerabilities and apply proactive strategies.
Use telehealth effectively: Equip yourself with targeted interventions to support traumatized clients without sacrificing your well-being.
Why this course?
Focused on real clinician needs: This course addresses the hidden psychological toll of working with trauma survivors—a challenge few are trained to manage.
Expert instruction from trauma leaders: Drs. Snyder and Sartor bring deep clinical and academic experience to a topic that requires both heart and science.
Evidence-based, ethically grounded: Our curriculum draws from peer-reviewed research, best practices, and the ethical imperative of clinician self-care.
Learning Objectives:
List symptoms and identify the differences and similarities of secondary traumatic stress STS, compassion fatigue CF, burnout BO, and vicarious trauma VT.
Recognize personal and professional vulnerabilities to secondary traumatic stress and compassion fatigue.
Develop interventions useful via Telemental health in working with those who are experiencing STS, CF, and BO.
This course invites you to step back from the overwhelm and step into a space of awareness, strategy, and healing. By understanding and addressing secondary trauma, you’re not only preserving your health—you’re honoring the purpose that brought you into this work.
Add this course to your cart to begin learning instantly.
This is a non-interactive, self-study program with video instruction and a course evaluation.
Availability: From the time of registration, you have six months to access the coursework.
Who Should Attend: This course is intended for clinicians who provide behavioral health services. This continuing education course is designed for licensed behavioral health professionals and provides training in suicide prevention using expressive arts as an integrative approach. However, this is not a creative arts therapy course and does not provide training in creative arts therapy.
Teaching Methods: This is a non-interactive, self-study course. Teaching methods for this course include recorded lectures, videos, a post-test, and a course evaluation.
How to Attend: Instructions for attending and completing a course can be found here.
Vanessa Snyder, PhD, is the Vice President of the Richmont Institute for Trauma & Recovery and is an Assistant Professor at Richmont Graduate University. She spearheaded the launch of the Richmont Trauma Center and now directs all clinical services. She is a practicing Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and a Licensed Professional Counselor. She is also an AAMFT Approved Supervisor, Approved Clinical Supervisor, Certified Sex Therapist, Certified Master Traumatologist, and Certified Anger Management Specialist. Clinically, she specializes in treatment of trauma, complex trauma, and dissociative disorders.
Dan Sartor, PhD, LPC, NCC is the Vice President of Integration and Professor of Counseling at Richmont Graduate University in Atlanta, GA. He is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist (IL & GA), Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (IL), and Nationally Board Certified Counselor. In addition to addressing issues of depression, anxiety, and grief in psychotherapy, Dan’s clinical specialties include complex trauma recovery, sexuality issues, addiction recovery, marital therapy, and the integration of Christian faith with clinical practice.
Disclosure Statement: The instructor(s) for this course receive compensation for their services. There are no reported conflicts of interest to disclose.
This course does not offer CE credits, just great content.
The same course is available for purchase and offers 3 CE hours for behavioral health clinicians. See "related products" below.
This course is a non-interactive, online self-study.
Participants may request a printed version of their certificate of completion to be delivered by mail. A shipping/handling fee of $6.95 will be charged per request. Shipping internationally may require an additional charge.
Closed captioning is offered for all live webinar participants.
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