Kaha Mind
Kaha
et al.

Issue 1 –
Feb
2026
Chairs illustration

Editor's Note:

Welcome to the first issue of Kaha Mind's Kaha et al., a monthly space where we bring the latest research to life by grounding it in the practical experience of doing therapy.

Many of us have been thinking about how the weight of collective events - pandemics, community loss, climate disasters, conflict, displacement - shows up in us as we hold space for others. It's no surprise that sometimes the boundary between the worlds of our clients and our own internal world blurs. And yet, we rarely pause together to explore what that means for us as therapists.

Inspired by the WHO's World Mental Health Day 2025 theme and our own clinical conversations, this first issue turns inward: to consider how our personal trauma histories might interact with the stress we experience when we do trauma work - what's often called secondary traumatic stress (STS). We are not here to pathologise ourselves, but to normalise honest reflection, talk about the value of supervision and support, and think together about what care for us looks like - both inside the therapy room and beyond.

In this issue, we share key takeaways from a recent systematic review on this topic, think through what it might mean for our practice, and offer prompts for reflection, supervision dialogue, and organisational care that supports sustainability.

Article in Focus:

Henderson, A., Jewell, T., Huang, X., & Simpson, A. (2025). Personal trauma history and secondary traumatic stress in mental health professionals: A systematic review. Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing, 32(1), 13–30. https://doi.org/10.1111/jpm.13082

Key Takeaways:

  1. Personal trauma history in therapists can increase vulnerability to secondary traumatic stress (STS).
    The review found that therapists with personal trauma histories showed higher rates of STS, ranging from 19% to 70%. There is limited evidence that therapist trauma history causes STS, but it is still a meaningful risk factor.
  2. Health care organisations, training institutions, and supervision could be potential buffers against secondary traumatic stress.
    The association of personal trauma history in mental health professionals and STS puts the spotlight on the role of training institutions and organisations that employ therapists-highlighting that therapist wellbeing is not only an individual responsibility. Supportive supervision, manageable workloads, and training around STS can be critical protective factors to help therapists navigate STS early on.
Brain pattern

Article in a Nutshell:

As many of us already know from experience, working with individuals who have experienced trauma can take an emotional toll. But what happens when we also carry our own histories of trauma while listening to others' stories?

This review took a bird's-eye view of the research up to 2023 to answer two questions:

The authors used PRISMA guidelines and included 23 quantitative and mixed-methods studies that had moderate quality based on the adapted Newcastle Ottawa Scale, a measure commonly used to assess the quality of studies in review papers.

The findings highlighted that:

This review did have important limitations: the studies included were mostly from Western, industrialised countries, there was high variability in the measurement of trauma history and STS across the studies, and all studies were cross-sectional, making it hard to draw any direct causal relationship between therapist trauma history and STS. Nonetheless, this systematic review is one of the few that synthesise research on STS and trauma history among therapists.

Did you know?

STS overlaps with but differs from vicarious trauma, compassion fatigue, and burnout.

Vicarious trauma is cumulative and involves longer-term changes in a therapist's beliefs about safety, trust, and the world, due to repeated exposure to traumatic narratives. Compassion fatigue on the other hand reflects emotional/physical exhaustion and reduced capacity for empathy after prolonged trauma work. Burnout differs in that it primarily stems from chronic organisational stressors such as workload and systemic pressures, rather than trauma exposure itself, and is characterised by exhaustion, detachment, and reduced efficiency.

What Does This Mean for Us as Therapists?

This review does not tell us everything, but it does corroborate something most of us already sense: that bringing our own trauma histories into the room influences how we respond to our clients' trauma. Acknowledging and addressing this openly challenges the myth of the aloof, put-together, 'perfect' therapist and instead focuses on the support therapists need. Most importantly, STS must be understood as a structural and occupational issue rather than an individual one. Therefore, organisations play a crucial role in creating conditions that support therapists, such as through supervision, realistic workload management, and cultures that permit vulnerability without penalty.

Here's what therapists and organisations can do to care for ourselves and our clients as we work with personal, shared, and collective trauma.

Questions to Ask Yourself As a Therapist:

End of Session or Client-Specific Reflections:

Journalling/Reflection Questions:

For Organisations

As we know from our clinical work, an individual needs a supportive environment to thrive. And the norms and culture of our environment influence our relations with clients, peers, and ourselves. Here's what can be done:

Having a trauma history does not and should not disqualify therapists from trauma work. Instead, it calls for intentional self-monitoring, proactive supervision, and organisational support.

What's Coming Next: Save the Date

We are celebrating our first edition with a bonus issue of Kaha et al. coming at the end of February! In the meantime, we welcome your input. If you have ideas for research questions, or areas you would like Kaha et al. to explore, please share them with us at hello@kahamind.com

Reference List & Further Reading (Happy reading!)

Henderson, A., Jewell, T., Huang, X., & Simpson, A. (2025). Personal trauma history and secondary traumatic stress in mental health professionals: A systematic review. Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing, 32(1), 13–30. https://doi.org/10.1111/jpm.13082

Lipsky, L. van D., & Burk, C. (2009). Trauma stewardship: An everyday guide to caring for self while caring for others. Berrett-Koehler Publishers.

Stamm, B. H. (2010). The concise ProQOL manual (2nd ed.). ProQOL.org. https://proqol.org

Stamm, B. H. (2009). Professional quality of life: Compassion satisfaction and fatigue subscales, Version V (ProQOL). Center for Victims of Torture. https://proqol.org/ProQol_Test.html

PRISMA Group. (n.d.). PRISMA statement. https://www.prisma-statement.org

Peterson, J., Welch, V., Losos, M., & Tugwell, P. (2011). The Newcastle–Ottawa Scale (NOS) for assessing the quality of nonrandomised studies in meta-analyses. Ottawa Hospital Research Institute. https://www.evidencebasedpublichealth.de/download/Newcastle_Ottowa_Scale_Pope_Bruce.pdf

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