Telling Stories of Trauma: The Impacts of Interpreting Museum Collections and Exhibitions

Exposure to traumatic material may result in stress for museum workers who are involved with the collection and care of items in a museum or relating difficult narratives to visitors of the museum. The goal of this study is to quantify the psychosocial factors in a museum setting and the effects of exposure to potentially traumatic material. Only a small percentage of the participants reported not encountering a situation while performing their job that they consider to be emotionally disturbing or traumatic in nature. Recalling accounts of individuals who have been victims of crime, discrimination, etc. is the situation most frequently reported to be disturbing in nature. Nearly two thirds of participants stated that they have taken action to address the effects of stress they are experiencing on the job. Very few participants seek help from an employee assistance program. Talking with a therapist/psychologist or a friend are the most common methods of dealing with stress experienced at work. An understanding of the stress and psychological trauma experienced by museum workers will help aid in the development of intervention strategies to improve the working conditions of museum workers.