Acknowledging and addressing the emotional and psychological challenges of research is important if queer researchers operating in conflict settings are to remain healthy, functional, and well.

It is increasingly recognized that social science research can place exceptional emotional and psychological demands on the researcher. Over the past 10 to 15 years, many individual researchers have written reflexively about this aspect of their work (for example, Weiss, 2014; Drozdzewski, 2015; Moussawi, 2021). Meanwhile, attention has been given to the experiences of researchers within specific academic disciplines (for example, Loyle and Simoni (2017) on political science; Pollard (2009) on anthropology) and fields of study (for example, Maček (2014) on genocide/mass atrocities; Williamson (2020) and Schulz et al (2022) on gender-based violence).

Some hazards are obvious: the researcher observing suffering, deprivation, cruelty, or injustice day after day is vulnerable to a darkening of worldview. This is exacerbated by feeling increasingly helpless and hopeless in the face of what can seem overwhelming and intractable social and political problems. It can be hard to sustain belief that there is goodness in the world, and value in the work done as researchers. Those who work in difficult and trying fields discover that it is vital to offset negative experiences by balancing them with positive experiences, if the work is to be sustainable.

But in addition, researchers whose work entails engaging directly with traumatized research subjects—those whose experiences have overwhelmed their coping capacities and left them with a profound sense of powerlessness—may be at risk of developing symptoms of vicarious trauma (VT), a variant of PTSD arising in response to hearing about and empathizing with traumatized others in a professional capacity (McCann and Pearlman, 1990; American Psychiatric Association, 2013). These symptoms are distressing for many and debilitating for some. They can also be detrimental to the quality and integrity of the academic work: a traumatized researcher’s emotional responses can get in the way of seeing their research subjects clearly (Loyle and Simoni, 2017; Shesterinina, 2019). It is therefore very important for researchers to be aware of the risks of VT and to manage this dimension of their research experience in a proactive and thoughtful way.

For queer researchers working in conflict settings, research challenges may be amplified and compounded by both internal and external factors. Internally and intra-psychically, many queer researchers must contend not only with VT, but also with the after-effects of trauma in their personal histories, and with the complex interplay between personal and VT which may leave them feeling that no place is ‘safe’; while externally chaos, unpredictability, and ever-present possibility of violence may tax coping resources.

I write not as a queer researcher, but as a White, heterosexual, cisgender woman bringing two perspectives: first, that of a practising psychotherapist specializing in trauma, and working predominantly in a university setting where many of my clients struggle with the issues just described; and, second, as the developer of what as far as I am aware is the only established, university-based training to equip student and staff researchers with the tools to manage the impact of trauma exposure resulting from fieldwork and other sensitive research. This training, offered termly at the University of Oxford since 2016, and more recently at other universities and think tanks, is designed to meet the needs of social scientists researching topics such as genocide, mass displacement of populations, and gender-based violence; scientists studying impacts of climate change, destruction of habitats and extinction of species; medics studying experiences of illness and death; and researchers working on a broad range of issues in conflict and post-conflict settings.

I feel a strong personal commitment to this training because I believe wholeheartedly that for researchers whose work brings them into contact with difficult human experiences, the emotional work is part of the work: not a side issue, but a necessary and integral part of the work, if they are to withstand the emotional and psychological impacts and remain solid and strong. It is also essential for the quality and the integrity of the work.

My involvement in this work began in 2015, when the University of Oxford Counselling Service (where I was Deputy Head until 2021) set up a specialist clinic to treat students with trauma-related symptoms. We expected to see students following sexual assault, accident, injury, and the like, but were taken aback by the numbers of students who were social science researchers, both masters and doctoral students, presenting with post-traumatic symptoms arising in response to fieldwork. In some cases, the connection to fieldwork was immediately evident, as when a researcher seeking an appointment wrote on their registration form: ‘I’ve been having nightmares and intrusive images relating to stories I heard during my fieldwork. I’m having a hard time transcribing interviews because I cry uncontrollably and start feeling like I can’t breathe.’¹ In other cases, researchers might initially describe symptoms of depression (‘In general, I feel very flat and have lost interest in most things’) or anxiety (‘I feel highly anxious and on edge all the time, am struggling to sleep and I am exhausted and stressed’) but when we explored the context in which their symptoms had emerged it became clear that they were related to fieldwork, and in particular fieldwork which entailed vicarious exposure to trauma.²

The need for preventative intervention was clear. Our response was to develop training drawing together input from three sources: the collective wisdom of researchers; an understanding of the neurobiology of response to traumatic stress; and finally, insights and approaches from the world of trauma psychotherapy, including those used by therapists to help their clients, and those used by therapists to take care of themselves. Over time the training has grown organically, enriched by the contributions of more than 300 workshop participants and from trauma therapists who have come from a variety of contexts to act as guest co-facilitators.

My hope is that with time this kind of training will become established alongside other research methods training at universities. Meanwhile, many of the resources produced for the benefit of other professional groups recognized to be at risk of VT (including psychotherapists, humanitarian aid workers, and caring professions such as nurses and social workers) are useful resources. These include Saakvitne and Pearlman’s Transforming the Pain: A Workbook on Vicarious Traumatisation; Françoise Mathieu’s The Compassion Fatigue Workbook, and the resources on the websites of the Headington Institute³ and Tend Academy⁴. Valuable guidance on trauma-informed self-care can be found in Hell Yeah Self-Care: A Trauma-Informed Workbook by Alex Iantaffi and Meg-John Barker. Achilles⁵ provides psychological resilience training for people working in conflict zones.

Broad recommendations for maintaining researcher emotional and psychological safety during challenging fieldwork informed by the Oxford workshops include the following:

1. 1.Do thoughtful and thorough preparation ahead of fieldwork.
   1. a.Acknowledge (and, if necessary, address) past traumas. Your history as a queer individual may be an asset—a rich source of insight and an invaluable wellspring of motivation—but if earlier traumatic experiences are unprocessed you may be more vulnerable as a result. Reflect honestly on what you need: is it enough to be aware of your vulnerabilities, or would you benefit from some counselling or therapy to get you research-ready? Even two or three sessions of counselling at a university counselling service, many of which now have staff members versed in trauma, may be sufficient to help you think about how to ‘hold’ your own trauma history as you do your research. If you need more therapy, a book such as The Body Keeps the Score (van der Kolk, 2014) may help you to be a more informed and confident consumer and the Free Psychotherapy Network⁶ can help you identify affordable options.
   2. b.Identify some elements of a self-care routine that you can really commit to and ensure that these are well adapted to the conditions of your field site. For example, if you normally run for exercise but will not be able to do so in the field, establish an exercise routine you can perform in the confines of your room, or on a yoga mat. Having a routine helps researchers working in precarious or unsettled external environments to hold on to a sense of agency. This is a useful antidote to the feelings of powerlessness that are the essence of trauma.
   3. c.Commit to yoga, meditation, or a breathing practice to enhance your resilience to stress, including traumatic stress. The combination of close interaction with traumatized others and observing/experiencing the realities of life disrupted by conflict can leave researchers in a chronically hyper-aroused state (described colloquially as ‘fight-flight’ response), which can be debilitating. Using these practices regularly to reduce arousal and reinstate normal function can transform resilience. Breathing practices are especially accessible to novice practitioners, and Brulé (2017) offers a good introduction.
   4. d.Acquire some tools you can use to help you stay clear-headed and functional in a crisis, including: simple grounding techniques; ‘box’ breathing (routinely used by military personnel); and activation of the ‘mammalian diving reflex’ via facial immersion, to restore calm and clarity in 30 seconds. You can easily learn about all these techniques online. Other tools and techniques can be explored in texts that provide guidance on trauma interventions and mitigation practices (see, for example, the work of Baranowsky and Gentry (2015) and Curran (2013)).
   5. e.Make sure adequate breaks are built in to your plans. This may be especially important for queer researchers who feel they need to mute their identities—for example, circumscribing gender expression and performance—to maintain safety in the field. Regular access to environments in which authentic expression is safe and welcome are likely to be very helpful in maintaining a strong sense of self under pressure.
2. 2.Regulate exposure to disturbing stimuli.
   1. a.Plan intelligently so that exposure to difficult or disturbing material is paced and recovery time is built in to the programme of work. Monitor your ‘distress saturation’ (Wray, 2007) and be prepared to have flexible plans if you are at risk of exceeding your distress tolerance.
   2. b.Be clear about your professional role and remain within it—not only when interacting with others, but whenever you are engaging with potentially challenging or disturbing material. Like a wetsuit, it gives you a layer of protection while supporting your professional function.
   3. c.Deploy empathy safely and skilfully. This may be especially challenging for queer researchers who are researching experiences which resonate with their own, and who may have intense emotional responses as a result. The capacity of a researcher to respond to stories of interlocutors with authentic engagement and to empathize with their experiences is essential to the integrity of a qualitative research process, but over-empathizing can heighten the risk of VT. Master the art of ‘exquisite empathy’ (Harrison and Westwood, 2009) to get close while remaining separate and on solid ground.
   4. d.Minimize repetitive listening to or reading distressing research materials. Take special care when exposed to visual material; for example, following the standard operating protocol recommended by the Dart Centre for Journalism and Trauma (Reese, 2017).
   5. e.Minimize non-work-related trauma exposure; for example, via news and social media. Repeated checking of (usually negative) news is a problem area for many; consider checking news only once a day or every other day, and where possible only in print form (that is, without images or sound).
   6. f.Distinguish clearly between work/non-work time and work/non-work space so that there are always zones in which you can relax and feel safe. Many find it helpful to have rituals of transition between work and non-work (for example, taking a shower or changing clothes). Have an area near your bed that has NO reminders of your work, but only objects that connect you with a sense of safety and home. Do not read or think about your research materials in your pyjamas, or in bed.
3. 3.Commit to regular and active processing of disturbing or unbalancing experiences, where helpful borrowing tools from the trauma therapist’s toolkit.
   1. a.Resolve to turn towards and acknowledge difficult feelings, rather than trying to cope by cutting off from feelings. Embrace the idea that emotions are a valuable source of intelligence.
   2. b.Capture thoughts and feelings regularly (for example, in field notes) so that they can be processed intentionally at an appropriate time and place. Note that writing them down also enables you to stop thinking about them for the present, without fear of forgetting anything important.
   3. c.Notice what your body wants to do following exposure to anything difficult or disturbing—run? punch a pillow? curl into a ball? make some noise?—and allow this if possible. If you feel you are carrying trauma or tension in your body, try Dr David Bercelli’s Tension & Trauma Releasing Exercises⁷ to achieve a dramatic one-off release.
   4. d.Return to thinking about any especially difficult experiences when you feel safe and have adequate time. Bear in mind that processing trauma entails: knowing what you know, feeling what you feel, and attending to implications. Deploying some trauma therapy techniques may be helpful to this process; for example, gentle tapping on acupressure points (see ‘Emotional Freedom Technique’ in Curran (2013)). If it feels overwhelming to think about an experience on your own, debrief with a therapist who can help you to remain sufficiently calm and grounded to do useful processing.
   5. e.Consciously expand your personal perspectives to embrace new complexities, recognizing that this process may have intellectual, spiritual, and philosophical dimensions. Try not to leave rhetorical questions hanging for too long. For example, you may find yourself asking ‘What’s the point (of life, of your research, of caring)?’ Make space to discover your authentic response to those questions—through your own reflection but also, where possible, in conversation with others who have grappled with similar questions.
4. 4.Maintain and develop relationships.
   1. a.Be honest with yourself about the limits of your existing support networks and consider establishing new relationships to fill any gaps—for example, a research buddy or a peer support group. For queer researchers, it is very valuable to form connections with other queer researchers whose experiences may resonate powerfully with your own.
   2. b.Value and invest in your most important relationships, even if you don’t feel like it. Give your loved ones your full attention and catch yourself if you start to feel their concerns are ‘too small to count’.
   3. c.Beware the tendency to displace anger (with the world? with the political system? with others’ apparent indifference to suffering?) onto loved ones.
   4. d.If concern about upsetting or damaging others inhibits you from communicating with colleagues or others about your work, learn ‘Low-Impact Debriefing’ techniques (Mathieu, 2012).
5. 5.Balance trauma with the positive.
   1. a.Pay attention to small moments of beauty, acts of kindness, and so on. Notice and value what is good in people and in the world.
   2. b.Actively recall experiences from your past that have helped you to trust that there is goodness in the world. Reimagine these engaging all your senses, in line with good practice in therapeutic use of imagery (Naparstek, 1994).
   3. c.Remind yourself of the importance and value of your work and do it as effectively as you can (but keep your aims modest and grounded).
   4. d.Adopt a stance of active optimism. Commit yourself to maintaining faith and trust in the self as ‘good enough’; the idea that something worthwhile (even if small) can come from the interaction we have with each other; and that the world is a place of beauty and potential despite and in addition to the pain and suffering. It may be helpful to explore the idea of ‘radical hope’ (Lear, 2006; Solnit, 2016).

Many of these things will be easier to do if they are recognized and affirmed as important by departments, research groups, supervisors, and relevant others. Being open about steps you are taking to look after yourself, and encouraging others to be similarly proactive, may help to shape a more positive research culture in which the emotional and psychological challenges of research are more openly acknowledged.

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Twelve questions to help researchers gauge readiness for sensitive research:

1. 1.Have you been completely honest with yourself about any areas of anxiety or apprehension you have in relation to your research, including about the way it may make you feel?
2. 2.Have you reflected on areas of personal, familial, and community trauma that may give rise to vulnerability as you do your research? Do you know how to manage yourself if you are ‘triggered’?
3. 3.Do you have clarity regarding your role and its boundaries and limitations? Have you thought about what degree of self-disclosure is appropriate and why? How readily accessible should you be to your respondents? What responsibilities do you have to them?
4. 4.When thinking about planning and logistics for your project, have you considered your psychological needs—for example, opportunity to orient and feel sufficiently safe/in control in a field environment, spacing of challenging interviews to enable emotional processing, balancing of trauma-intensive and non-trauma-intensive tasks?
5. 5.Are you confident that you can deploy empathy deliberately and safely? Do you know how to moderate the intensity of the emotional connection between yourself and another (for example, in an interview setting), while remaining present and engaged?
6. 6.Have you identified spatial and temporal ‘safe zones’ in your life?
7. 7.Do you have people with whom you can talk openly about your experience, both in your personal life and in your professional life? Do you have the skills to discuss difficult experiences without traumatizing others?
8. 8.Do you know how to recognize when you are in a state of sympathetic nervous system arousal (or, colloquially, ‘fight-flight’)? Do you know what steps to take to restore parasympathetic nervous system function (colloquially, ‘rest and digest’) so that you can think more clearly and access more of your coping resources?
9. 9.Have you committed to regular, active acknowledgement and processing of distressing (whether or not obviously ‘traumatic’) experiences in the course of your research? Have you established disciplines and procedures to support this?
10. 10.Do you know who you would contact if you were seriously worried about your emotional or psychological well-being or functioning in the course of your research? Have you identified some red flags that would help you to recognize the need to do this?
11. 11.Do you have regular activities or practices that help you to reconnect with your knowledge of what is good, trustworthy, moving, beautiful in humanity and in the world?
12. 12.Have you forgiven yourself in advance for the limitations in what you will achieve?