
Tending to Storyteller Vicarious Trauma with Michelle Vande Hay
From When Bearing Witness®: Becoming a Trauma-Informed Storyteller by Maria Bryan
October 21, 2025 · 23 min · Season 2 · Episode 46
About this episode
The episode discusses the impact of vicarious trauma on storytellers in the nonprofit sector and the importance of emotional self-care.
Send us Fan Mail Content Warning: Michelle briefly talks about the death of a loved one. Be mindful of your emotional capacity as you listen in. Storytelling in the nonprofit world is a powerful act of witness, but it can also take a quiet toll. When we listen to story after story of grief, injustice, or survival, our bodies absorb more than we realize. This is vicarious trauma, the invisible weight that settles in when we hold space for other people’s pain without tending to our ...
People in this episode
Host: Maria Bryan
Guest: Michelle Vande Hay
Topics covered
- vicarious trauma
- storytelling
- nonprofit
- emotional capacity
- grief
- pain
Keywords
- vicarious trauma
- storytelling
- nonprofit
- grief
- emotional health
- pain
- witness
More episodes of When Bearing Witness®: Becoming a Trauma-Informed Storyteller
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- The Mid-Year Reset Your Storytelling Practice Might Need · May 12, 2026 · 11 min
- How Ethical Storytelling Becomes a Movement With Diana Farias Heinrich · April 14, 2026 · 15 min
- Bringing Nonprofit Storytelling Back to the Campfire with Michael Kass · March 10, 2026 · 35 min
- Joy As A Liberatory Practice with Frank Velásquez Jr. · February 10, 2026 · 26 min
- Five Ways to Build a Trauma-Informed Storytelling Practice In 2026 · January 6, 2026 · 9 min
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