Pouring from an Empty Cup: A Qualitative Exploration of Early-Career School Social Workers' Lived Experiences with Secondary Trauma

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore how early-career school social workers in public schools in Georgia described their lived experiences of secondary trauma. This study examined the contextual elements that contributed to secondary trauma. The findings may inform training for school districts to improve climate and culture, develop learning workshops, and create supportive systems for early-career social workers exposed to student traumas. Theories guiding this study included Urie Bronfenbrenner’s ecological theory and Bruce Biddle’s role theory. Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory addresses the levels of influence on mental and physical wellness and their impact on human development. It may also highlight contextual elements in the workplace that increase resiliency, reducing secondary trauma through a multilevel framework. Biddle’s role theory provided a framework to address inter-role conflict and its influence on secondary trauma experiences. The target population included early-career school social workers in Georgia’s public schools. This qualitative research used a transcendental design with semi-structured interviews for data collection and inductive coding for data analysis.