Social workers in domestic violence shelters face chronic exposure to traumatic narratives, often resulting in secondary traumatic stress. This study examines archaeological pottery restoration as a citizen-science intervention supporting resilience among shelter-based social workers. Five licensed social workers participated in a 3-month program combining hands-on restoration with reflective dialogue, conducted during the 2023 Israel–Hamas war under conditions of heightened stress. Using ethnographic methods, including participant observation, field notes, and interviews, thematic analysis explored participants’ experiences. Findings indicate restoration fostered self-reflection, emotional processing, and symbolic associations with healing. The study introduces an innovative interdisciplinary model bridging social work, archaeology, and citizen science.
AielloA.TesiA. (2017). Psychological well-being and work engagement among Italian social workers: Examining the mediational role of job resources. Social Work Research, 41(2), 73–84. https://doi.org/10.1093/swr/svx005
2.
Akinsulure-SmithA. M.EspinosaA.ChuT.HallockR. (2018). Secondary traumatic stress and burnout among refugee resettlement workers: The role of coping and emotional intelligence. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 31(2), 202–212. https://doi.org/10.1002/jts.22279
3.
AmirD. (2014). From the position of the victim to the position of the witness: Traumatic testimony. Journal of Literature and Trauma Studies, 3(1), 43–62. https://doi.org/10.1353/jlt.2014.0019
4.
AmirD. (2018). Bearing witness to the witness: A psychoanalytic perspective on four modes of traumatic testimony. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315146508
5.
BaumN. (2016). Secondary traumatization in mental health professionals: A systematic review of gender findings. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 17(2), 221–235. https://doi.org/10.1177/1524838015584357
6.
BrandiC. (1963). Teoria del restauro. Edizioni di Storia e Letteratura.
7.
BriziA.RabinovichA.LewisC. (2023). Psychological outcomes of local heritage engagement: Participation in community archaeological excavations increases well-being, self-efficacy, and perceived community support. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 53(9), 850–861. https://doi.org/10.1111/jasp.12972
8.
CasselberryD. (2012). The veterans curation program. SAA Archaeological Record, 12(1), 11–14.
9.
CohenK.CollensP. (2013). The impact of trauma work on trauma workers: A metasynthesis on vicarious trauma and vicarious posttraumatic growth. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy, 5(6), 570–580. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0030388
10.
DarvillT. (1995). Value systems in archaeology. In CooperM. A.FirthA.CarmanJ.WheatleyD. (Eds.), Managing archaeology. Routledge.
11.
EverillP.BennettR.BurnellK. (2020). Dig in: An evaluation of the role of archaeological fieldwork for the improved well-being of military veterans. Antiquity, 94(373), 212–227. https://doi.org/10.1891/0886-6708.VV-D-16-00200
12.
GusmanoB. (2019). The kintsugi art of care: Unraveling consent in ethical non-monogamies. Sociological Research Online, 24(4), 661–679. https://doi.org/10.1177/1360780418816103
13.
HarrisO.LawesA.AndrewsC.JacobsenP. (2022). Kintsugi—Identity change and reconstruction following an episode of psychosis: A systematic review and thematic synthesis. Early Intervention in Psychiatry, 16(7), 689–714. https://doi.org/10.1111/eip.13216
14.
HermanJ. L. (1992). Complex PTSD: A syndrome in survivors of prolonged and repeated trauma. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 5(3), 377–391. https://doi.org/10.1002/jts.2490050305
15.
HoltorfC. (2005). From Stonehenge to Las Vegas: Archaeology as popular culture. Altamira Press.
16.
LincolnY. S.GubaE. G. (1988, April 5–9). Criteria for assessing naturalistic inquiries as reports [Conference presentation]. Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, New Orleans, LA.
17.
LipeW. D. (1984). Value and meaning in cultural resources. In CleereH. (Ed.), Approaches to the archaeological heritage: A comparative study of world cultural resource management systems. Cambridge University Press.
18.
MateiR. (2015). Social trauma, fracture of identity, and restoring the sense of continuity through the analytic cure. Romanian Journal of Psychoanalysis/Revue Roumaine de Psychanalyse, 8(2), 35–45.
NeuendorfK. A. (2017). The content analysis guidebook. Sage.
21.
NimenkoW.SimpsonR. G. (2014). Rear operations group medicine: A pilot study of psychological decompression in a Rear Operations Group during Operation HERRICK 14. BMJ Military Health, 160(4), 295–297. https://doi.org/10.1136/jramc-2013-000196
22.
OrtonC.HughesM. (2013). Pottery in archaeology. Cambridge University Press.
23.
RenfrewC. (2006a). Figuring it out: What are we? Where do we come from? The parallel visions of artists and archaeologists. Thames and Hudson.
24.
RenfrewC. (2006b). Becoming human: The archaeological challenge. In: Proceedings of the British Academy (Vol. 139, p. 217). Oxford University Press.
ScherbH. K. (2018). The kintsugi metaphor to conceptualize healing and repair after torture and trauma: A training program [Doctoral dissertation]. Alliant International University. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global.
27.
SprangG.GuslerS.EslingerJ.GottfriedR. (2024). The relationship between secondary traumatic stress and compassion satisfaction: A systematic literature review. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 25(3), 2282–2296. https://doi.org/10.1177/15248380231209438
28.
StakeR. E. (2013). Multiple case study analysis. Guilford Press.
29.
TracyN.ZadinskyJ. K. (2025). Risk factors of secondary traumatic stress: A scoping review. Journal of Advanced Nursing. https://doi.org/10.1111/jan.70076
