Helping professionals dedicate their lives to supporting others through pain, crisis, and recovery. Therapists, healthcare workers, first responders, and addiction treatment providers often enter their fields with a deep sense of purpose.  Yet over time, continuous exposure to trauma can take a hidden toll. Vicarious trauma happens when professionals take on the emotional pain of others. This can change their inner world in strong but subtle ways. Unlike burnout, which often stems from workload or organizational stress, vicarious trauma arises