Covering sensitive populations: Self - care as journalists

 Tuesday, 18 February 2014 

If you’re a journalist, chances are good you got into this business because you care about people. There are cynics among us, but empathy is a trait that makes great storytellers. Unfortunately, that empathic nature can cause problems if you’re covering traumatic and deeply emotional stories.

“I think the cliche thing a lot of photographers say is, ‘I want to tell stories for people whose stories haven’t been heard,’ but I think that’s very true,” says Jessica Koscielniak, a multimedia producer at the Chicago Sun-Times. “My work is for other people, and, inserting myself into these situations, I know they’re hard.”

Koscielniak has been a photojournalist for ten years, and traumatic situations are part of her repertoire; she’s covered chronic illnesses, the aftermath of the earthquake in Haiti, and most recently, gun violence in Chicago. She recognizes that the choice to cover difficult subjects is hard on her. “You have to accept that you’re going to hurt. You’re going to have a sleepless night, and it may come back to haunt you.”

Journalists are like any other first responders. “Journalists’ symptoms of traumatic stress are remarkably similar to those of police offices and firefighters who work in the immediate aftermath of tragedy, yet journalists typically receive little support after they file their stories,” Al Tompkins of the Poynter Institute for Media Studies, wrote immediately after September 11th.

It’s also common for journalists to experience second hand trauma, which counselors sometimes refer to as compassion fatigue, a fitting term for our profession. When we spend time photographing, interviewing and thinking about people who have had traumatic things happen to them, it can affect us more than we think. Here are some ways you can take better care of yourself as a journalist:

PREPARE YOURSELF

Koscielniak says she goes into intense situations with an open mind, to be ready for anything. Having an idea of what you may see or experience can help you prepare mentally for shooting traumatic subjects. Self-defense workshops, sensitivity training, or first aid classes, can help mentally prepare you for dangerous or difficult situations. Feeling ready and meeting colleagues with similar interests can provide some relief from anxiety and set you up with a ready-made support base. Places like the Dart Center and International News Safety Institute offer training, and you can find out more about them at the end of this post.

LOOK OUT FOR EACH OTHER

As journalists, we understand better than anyone else what covering traumatic events is like. Reach out to your colleagues if you know they’re covering something that could be emotionally taxing, and familiarize yourself with places to go for information on self care, so that you can direct peers to resources.

DON’T BE TOO PROUD TO ASK FOR HELP

“Journalists have a history of denial,” says Cratis Hippocrates, of the Dart Centre Australia. “There is a perception that you are unprofessional if ‘you can’t handle it.’ Journalists claim they are unaffected to their colleagues. But this false bravado takes its toll.”

You do a disservice to your future stories if you don’t take some time to decompress between stressful projects. You owe it to yourself and to your subjects. Not debriefing can impact your career so take some time to process, and reach out to others for help.

TALK ABOUT IT

There are a lot of options for dealing with second hand trauma. Professional counseling is good option, but just discussing it with someone in your own social circle can help.

Koscielniak was part of a team from the Chicago Sun-Times that filmed the funeral of Ashley Hardmon, a teenager shot and killed in Chicago last year, and it was a challenging project. “To this day, I get very emotional when I think of it, and I think of it often,” she says. “But when I think about it, I talk about it. Talking about it is key, and talking about specifically what disturbs you. I think I’ve learned a lot by talking about these situations I’ve been in. I think that’s the only way to really kind of be ok with what you’re photographing.”

SELF CARE RESOURCES

“Photographers are exposed to multitudes of trauma. Every time you see the picture. . . you relive the sights, sounds, smells and adrenaline that is associated with that picture,” says David Handschuh, photographer for the New York Daily News who was injured covering September 11th. It’s important for journalists who cover traumatic circumstances to take care of themselves, so they can keep sharing those circumstances with those fortunate enough not to have lived them. If you don’t practice self care, it can affect your career and your own mental health. The list of resources below offers trainings, information, and more suggestions for coping with PTSD or compassion fatigue.

The International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies was founded “for professionals to share information about the effects of trauma.” Follow them on Twitter @ISTSSnews.

The International News Safety Institute or INSI provides “vitally important safety advice and information for journalists working in potentially dangerous environments all over the world.” Check out their blog and follow them on Twitter @INSInews.

“The Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma, a project of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, is dedicated to informed, innovative and ethical news reporting on violence, conflict and tragedy.” They have helpful resources on self-care and PTSD. Follow them on Twitter @DartCenter.

“The Ochberg Society is a network of journalists who advance the compassionate and ethical coverage of trauma, conflict and social injustice.” They publish Acts of Witness, an online magazine on covering trauma. Follow them on Twitter @traumajournos. 
Please share your own methods and resources for dealing with traumatic events with us via Twitter or Facebook. We’d love to start a dialogue about the importance of self care.

Courtesy - http://columbiavisuals.com/