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Melissa Neitlich, Psy.D., is a 2026 graduate of the Psy.D. Program in Clinical Psychology at Antioch University, New England

Dissertation Committee:

Karen Meteyer, PhD, Chairperson

Martha Straus, PhD, Committee Member

Casey Culligan-Benoit, PsyD, Committee Member

Keywords

Vicarious trauma, constructivist self-development theory, doctoral trainees, inpatient, inpatient setting, interpretive phenomenological analysis, qualitative, mixed-methods, IPA, severe mental illness, psychologist, early career psychologist, psychologist in training, clinical psychology, graduate school, PsyD, PhD, doctoral student, student

Document Type

Dissertation

Publication Date

2026

Abstract

Vicarious trauma (VT), first coined by Irene Lisa McCann and Anne Pearlman, is described as a pervasive and cumulative impact of working with survivors of trauma, resulting in changes to the therapist’s identity, worldview, psychological needs, beliefs, and memory. In spite of the unique vulnerabilities of doctoral trainees for experiencing VT, there is limited research on the impact of VT among doctoral trainee populations, as most of the extant literature focuses on the impact of VT in middle- to late-career psychological practice. In this primarily qualitative dissertation, I examined trainees’ experiences of vicarious trauma within various inpatient settings using the constructivist self-development theoretical framework as a guide. Six individuals met the threshold for VT through a brief screener and then participated in a semistructured interview that was analyzed using interpretive phenomenological analysis. Five superordinate themes emerged: (1) how inpatient work reshapes self and relationships, (2) holding the weight and worth of the work, (3) enduring the nuances within an organization, (4) supervision as a double-edged sword, and (5) need for change. The findings indicated that doctoral trainees in high-acuity settings experienced VT as a multifaceted phenomenon that reshaped their psychological needs and cognitive schemas in both positive and negative ways. Their experiences were perceived to be influenced by organizational culture, supervision quality, peer integration, and the presence or absence of academic and institutional support. Lastly, I discussed clinical treatment implications, limitations, and future directions for research. This dissertation is available in open access at AURA (https://aura.antioch.edu) and OhioLINK ETD Center (https://etd.ohiolink.edu).

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ORCID iD: 0009-0001-1404-4974

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