What is it about?
Therapists can be emotionally affected by hearing about their clients’ traumatic experiences, a reaction known as secondary traumatic stress (STS). This can impact their wellbeing and their work. Research on STS is difficult to compare because different studies use different ways of measuring it. This review examined how STS has been measured in therapists and other mental health clinicians. Forty-nine studies were included, identifying seven different questionnaires. The most commonly used were the Professional Quality of Life Scale and the Secondary Traumatic Stress Scale. Both were found to be reliable but focus on different aspects of STS. No single questionnaire measures all aspects of secondary traumatic stress. Choosing a measure should therefore depend on which aspects of STS are most important for the research or clinical purpose.
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Why is it important?
Secondary traumatic stress can negatively affect therapists’ mental health, job satisfaction, and ability to provide high-quality care. If it is not recognised, it can build up over time and lead to burnout, distress, or leaving the profession. To recognise and prevent secondary traumatic stress, we first need reliable ways to measure it. Good measurement helps organisations identify when clinicians are struggling, evaluate support and supervision, and test whether wellbeing interventions are effective. By improving how secondary traumatic stress is measured, this research supports better protection of mental health professionals’ wellbeing and, in turn, the care they provide to their clients.
Perspectives
As a Clinical Psychologist working therapeutically with NHS (UK's publicly funded healthcare system) staff, I am particularly aware of the impact that ongoing exposure to trauma can have on clinicians. In occupational health settings, I see professionals supporting highly distressed individuals while also working under significant organisational pressures, which can make secondary traumatic stress harder to recognise and address. This experience has strengthened my view that reliable ways of measuring secondary traumatic stress are essential, not only to support individual wellbeing but also to inform supervision, workplace support, and preventative strategies within healthcare services.
Dr Aleksandra Paksina
North London Partners Shared Services
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Measuring secondary traumatic stress in therapists: A systematic review., Psychological Trauma Theory Research Practice and Policy, January 2026, American Psychological Association (APA),
DOI: 10.1037/tra0002080.
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