Why is vicarious trauma a concern for investigators in VCITP?

• A. It has no impact
• B. Repeated exposure can affect mental health, job performance, and decision making; implement self-care and supervision
• C. It only affects victims
• D. It can be ignored with time off

Answer: (B)

Repeated exposure to victims’ trauma can become emotionally real for investigators. In VCITP, investigators routinely hear distressing accounts and witness traumatic material, and this ongoing exposure can accumulate. That can affect mental health (anxiety, depression, sleep problems), job performance (concentration, focus, error rate), and decision making (bias, impaired judgment under stress). Because of this, implementing self-care and supervision helps monitor, support, and mitigate these effects, making this option the best answer. Statements that say there’s no impact, that only victims are affected, or that time off solves it, don’t reflect the sustained influence of exposure or the recommended protective measures.