The Impact of Pre-existing Trauma on Professionals in the Field of Social Work

Kimberly Nicole Mudd-Fegett

doi:doi:10.11648/j.sdps.20260101.11

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The Impact of Pre-existing Trauma on Professionals in the Field of Social Work

Kimberly Nicole Mudd-Fegett^*

Published in Science Discovery Psychology (Volume 1, Issue 1)

Received: 11 December 2025 Accepted: 22 December 2025 Published: 25 February 2026

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Abstract

Most social work students enter the profession with the noble ambition of changing the world. This ambition is often driven by the desire to help others, right injustices or perhaps due experiencing personal trauma. This article highlights an exploratory mixed-methods research project conducted with undergraduate and graduate alumni from a faith-based university, utilizing both a quantitative survey and qualitative narrative interviews. The purpose of this research was to gain an understanding of the underlying motivation of why research participants entered social work practice. Specifically exploring the existence of the impact of personal trauma on professional practice, to understand self-care, healing and the impact it holds on those served. Additionally, this exploratory study focused on self-care practices that assisted participants sustain their emotional, mental, and overall well-being in practice addressing existing and secondary trauma relating to professional practice. The testimonies provided within this study attest to the experiences, trauma and passion social work professionals hold as they enter the profession. It is imperative these individuals are met with compassion, care, support and trauma-informed supervision to sustain within practice that will meet them secondary-trauma. The conclusion of this study highlights the need for additional education within the social work curriculum to ensure that students develop a deep-rooted understanding of specific self-care practices before entering direct practice.

Published in	Science Discovery Psychology (Volume 1, Issue 1)
DOI	10.11648/j.sdps.20260101.11
Page(s)	1-12
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2026. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Underlying Trauma, Secondary Trauma, Self-care, Narrative Interviewing, Transformational Teaching

References

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[2]	Kaur, S., & Solanki, S. (2023). Understanding the impact of trauma: A comprehensive analysis of psychological, neurobio-logical, and therapeutic dimensions. Research Gate.
[3]	Lanius, R., Terpou, B., & McKinnon, M. (2020). The sense of self in the aftermath of trauma: lessons from the default mode network in posttraumatic stress disorder. European Journal of Psychotraumathology, 11: 1807703. https://doi.org/10.1080/20008198.2020.1807703
[4]	Méndez-Fernández, A., Aguiar-Fernández, F., Lombarde-ro-Posada, X., Murcia-Álvarez, E., & González-Fernández, A. (2022). Vicariously resilient or traumatized social workers: Ex-ploring some risk and protective factors. The British Journal of Social Work, 52(2): 1089–1109. https://doi.org/10.1093/bjsw/bcab085
[5]	Muldoon, O., Haslam, A., Haslam, C., Cruwys, T., Kearns, M., & Jetten, J. (2020). The social psychology of responses to trauma: social identity pathways associated with divergent traumatic responses. European Review of Social Psychology, 30(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/10463283.2020.1711628
[6]	NASW. (2024, October 17). Retrieved from National Associa-tion of Social Workers.
[7]	Petersen, A. (2024). New insights on motives for choosing social work as a career: Answers from students and newly qualified social workers. Social Work Education, 43(3). https://doi.org/10.1080/02615479.2022.2139823
[8]	Ratcliff, M. (2024). Social workers, burnout, and self-care. Delaware Journal of Public Health, 10(1): 26–29.
[9]	Tian, W., Chun- Rong-L. (2025). Understanding compassion fatigue amongst social workers: A scoping review. Frontiers in Psychology. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1500305
[10]	Olson, L., Cabrera, A., Bickel, J., Robinson, A., Eigege, C., Blanchard, K,. Mandiberg, J., & Gearing, R. (2025). Medical social workers in the hospitals: Burnout and secondary trauma during the COVID 19- Pandemic. 15(32) https://doi.org/10.1080/19371918.2025.2545831
[11]	Whittenbury, K., Clark, S. L., Brooks, M., Murphy, T., Turner, M. J., & Fawcett, H. (2025). Strengths for helping professionals exposed to secondary trauma: A scoping review. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 26(2), 251–264. https://doi.org/10.1177/15248380241309371
[12]	Easton, S., Safadi, N., & Santo, L. (2022). Mental health outcomes among public social workers in the occupied Palestinian territories. Journal of Loss and Trauma, (28) 103-121. https://doi.org/10.1080/15325024.2022.2105483
[13]	Wolff, L., Shephard, K., Belluigi, D., Pedro, V., Rieckmann, M., Skarstein, F., Cheah, S. Transformational learning, teaching, and action in the most challenging times. (2022). (7). https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2022.1041914
[14]	Mudd-Fegett, K. N. (2024). Transformational Teaching: Learning that Extends Beyond the Walls of the Classroom. Mudd, K., Mudd-Fegett, K. Transformational Learning in Social Work and Human Services Education. IGI Publishing.
[15]	Cook, L. (2024). Strengthening the workforce: Retention in social work. Research in Practice. Wales, England.

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APA Style

Mudd-Fegett, K. N. (2026). The Impact of Pre-existing Trauma on Professionals in the Field of Social Work. Science Discovery Psychology, 1(1), 1-12. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sdps.20260101.11

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ACS Style

Mudd-Fegett, K. N. The Impact of Pre-existing Trauma on Professionals in the Field of Social Work. Sci. Discov. Psychol. 2026, 1(1), 1-12. doi: 10.11648/j.sdps.20260101.11

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AMA Style

Mudd-Fegett KN. The Impact of Pre-existing Trauma on Professionals in the Field of Social Work. Sci Discov Psychol. 2026;1(1):1-12. doi: 10.11648/j.sdps.20260101.11

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@article{10.11648/j.sdps.20260101.11,
  author = {Kimberly Nicole Mudd-Fegett},
  title = {The Impact of Pre-existing Trauma on Professionals in the Field of Social Work},
  journal = {Science Discovery Psychology},
  volume = {1},
  number = {1},
  pages = {1-12},
  doi = {10.11648/j.sdps.20260101.11},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sdps.20260101.11},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.sdps.20260101.11},
  abstract = {Most social work students enter the profession with the noble ambition of changing the world. This ambition is often driven by the desire to help others, right injustices or perhaps due experiencing personal trauma. This article highlights an exploratory mixed-methods research project conducted with undergraduate and graduate alumni from a faith-based university, utilizing both a quantitative survey and qualitative narrative interviews. The purpose of this research was to gain an understanding of the underlying motivation of why research participants entered social work practice. Specifically exploring the existence of the impact of personal trauma on professional practice, to understand self-care, healing and the impact it holds on those served. Additionally, this exploratory study focused on self-care practices that assisted participants sustain their emotional, mental, and overall well-being in practice addressing existing and secondary trauma relating to professional practice. The testimonies provided within this study attest to the experiences, trauma and passion social work professionals hold as they enter the profession. It is imperative these individuals are met with compassion, care, support and trauma-informed supervision to sustain within practice that will meet them secondary-trauma. The conclusion of this study highlights the need for additional education within the social work curriculum to ensure that students develop a deep-rooted understanding of specific self-care practices before entering direct practice.},
 year = {2026}
}

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TY  - JOUR
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AU  - Kimberly Nicole Mudd-Fegett
Y1  - 2026/02/25
PY  - 2026
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VL  - 1
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Author Information

Kimberly Nicole Mudd-Fegett

Carver School of Social Work, Campbellsville University, Campbellsville, United States

Contact Email

http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9136-9206

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APA Style

Mudd-Fegett, K. N. (2026). The Impact of Pre-existing Trauma on Professionals in the Field of Social Work. Science Discovery Psychology, 1(1), 1-12. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sdps.20260101.11

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ACS Style

Mudd-Fegett, K. N. The Impact of Pre-existing Trauma on Professionals in the Field of Social Work. Sci. Discov. Psychol. 2026, 1(1), 1-12. doi: 10.11648/j.sdps.20260101.11

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AMA Style

Mudd-Fegett KN. The Impact of Pre-existing Trauma on Professionals in the Field of Social Work. Sci Discov Psychol. 2026;1(1):1-12. doi: 10.11648/j.sdps.20260101.11

Copy | Download

@article{10.11648/j.sdps.20260101.11,
  author = {Kimberly Nicole Mudd-Fegett},
  title = {The Impact of Pre-existing Trauma on Professionals in the Field of Social Work},
  journal = {Science Discovery Psychology},
  volume = {1},
  number = {1},
  pages = {1-12},
  doi = {10.11648/j.sdps.20260101.11},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sdps.20260101.11},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.sdps.20260101.11},
  abstract = {Most social work students enter the profession with the noble ambition of changing the world. This ambition is often driven by the desire to help others, right injustices or perhaps due experiencing personal trauma. This article highlights an exploratory mixed-methods research project conducted with undergraduate and graduate alumni from a faith-based university, utilizing both a quantitative survey and qualitative narrative interviews. The purpose of this research was to gain an understanding of the underlying motivation of why research participants entered social work practice. Specifically exploring the existence of the impact of personal trauma on professional practice, to understand self-care, healing and the impact it holds on those served. Additionally, this exploratory study focused on self-care practices that assisted participants sustain their emotional, mental, and overall well-being in practice addressing existing and secondary trauma relating to professional practice. The testimonies provided within this study attest to the experiences, trauma and passion social work professionals hold as they enter the profession. It is imperative these individuals are met with compassion, care, support and trauma-informed supervision to sustain within practice that will meet them secondary-trauma. The conclusion of this study highlights the need for additional education within the social work curriculum to ensure that students develop a deep-rooted understanding of specific self-care practices before entering direct practice.},
 year = {2026}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - The Impact of Pre-existing Trauma on Professionals in the Field of Social Work
AU  - Kimberly Nicole Mudd-Fegett
Y1  - 2026/02/25
PY  - 2026
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sdps.20260101.11
DO  - 10.11648/j.sdps.20260101.11
T2  - Science Discovery Psychology
JF  - Science Discovery Psychology
JO  - Science Discovery Psychology
SP  - 1
EP  - 12
PB  - Science Publishing Group
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sdps.20260101.11
AB  - Most social work students enter the profession with the noble ambition of changing the world. This ambition is often driven by the desire to help others, right injustices or perhaps due experiencing personal trauma. This article highlights an exploratory mixed-methods research project conducted with undergraduate and graduate alumni from a faith-based university, utilizing both a quantitative survey and qualitative narrative interviews. The purpose of this research was to gain an understanding of the underlying motivation of why research participants entered social work practice. Specifically exploring the existence of the impact of personal trauma on professional practice, to understand self-care, healing and the impact it holds on those served. Additionally, this exploratory study focused on self-care practices that assisted participants sustain their emotional, mental, and overall well-being in practice addressing existing and secondary trauma relating to professional practice. The testimonies provided within this study attest to the experiences, trauma and passion social work professionals hold as they enter the profession. It is imperative these individuals are met with compassion, care, support and trauma-informed supervision to sustain within practice that will meet them secondary-trauma. The conclusion of this study highlights the need for additional education within the social work curriculum to ensure that students develop a deep-rooted understanding of specific self-care practices before entering direct practice.
VL  - 1
IS  - 1
ER  -

Copy | Download