“The trauma of system failure:” The Interactional Process affecting MSW intern trauma exposure response

Social workers are frequently exposed to the suffering of clients and communities they partner with while navigating multiple institutional factors exacerbating their and their clients’ trauma. While significant research has identified high levels of trauma exposure response and burnout among master’s level social workers, limited work explicitly examines what influences the impact of trauma exposure response among MSW interns. As such, a Grounded Theory design was used to understand the process through which MSW interns and supervisors identify and respond to the manifestation of interns’ trauma exposure in placement. Data were collected via in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 15 MSW interns and 11 supervisors from three MSW programs. Findings inform the Interactional Process of the Three S’s, which highlights the process through which the Self, Supervisor, and System either exacerbate or mitigate interns’ trauma exposure response. Although interns leveraged coping skills, most interns described a “hopelessness” as they internalized the inability to change the circumstances that continued to traumatize their clients. A few interns could make meaning out of their roles, primarily influenced by the support from their supervisors. Interviews with supervisors outline how personal experiences and coping methods, their own experience with their supervisors, and the university collectively impact how they support interns exposed to client trauma. The Interactional Process underscores the need to address harmful policies and practices throughout social work systems. Implications describe points of intervention for universities and placement sites to implement to protect MSW interns and their supervisors.