Social Work Trauma Paper

In a trauma informed agency, it’s important that all staff are frequently updated with the principles of trauma informed care (Trauma-Informed Care: A Sociocultural Perspective, 2014). Such principles would involve a collection of resources, evidence based research, academic findings, reports, and quality approaches used by collaborating agencies (Trauma-Informed Care: A Sociocultural Perspective, 2014). Resources are very valuable to staff when they are needing a new strategy, in the case of their clients not responding effectively to former methods (Trauma-Informed Care: A Sociocultural Perspective,

In Somatic trauma therapy, a clients' defences are seen as resources for con­taining and dealing with traumatic material. The

The term “Psychological trauma” refers to damage wrought from a traumatic event, which that damages one’s ability to cope with stressors. “Trauma” is commonly defined as an exposure to a situation in which a person is confronted with an event that involves actual or threatened death or serious injury, or a threat to self or others’ physical well-being (American Psychiatric Association, 2000). Specific types of client trauma frequently encountered by which therapists and other mental health workers frequently encounter in a clinical setting include sexual abuse, physical , or sexual assault, natural disasters such as earthquakes or tsunamis, domestic violence, and school or/and work related violence (James & Gilliland, 2001). Traumatic

Trauma-informed care mainly aims at realizing the impact that trauma brings and identify the potential paths for recovering. It also goes ahead to recognize the symptoms and signs of trauma in the staff, clients, families, and other people who are involved in the system (Withers, 2017). After this, the

A trauma informed model of practice should centre upon a perspective that asks the client user ‘what happened to you’ rather than ‘what is wrong with you’ (Bloom and Farragher). This approach promotes the base line for which the service should be impliemented; an approach which enable to cliet to connect how their trauma has influence their behaviour, feelings, coping mechanisim and general perspective (Felitti et al. 1998). Staff within the home should have a good degree of trauma informed care as this enable for a deeper understanding of how the trauma can impact upon the individual and allow for holistic care (Harris and Fallot, 2001) and enables better support and help reduce to protential for re-tramatisation via triggers and uncousious re-enactment of trauma (SAMHSA, 2010). Implementing the above approach the client can receive the holistic carer they require in order to begin to overcome the trauma they have experienced.

Foa and her colleagues (2011) created prolonged Exposure (PE) for clients trying to overcome with PTSD that is based on the emotional processing therapy (Foa, 2011). PE treatment plan includes collecting of information associated to both the traumatic experience and the trauma survivor's responses to it, the teaching of breathing retraining techniques, education, the re-experiencing of the trauma in imagination, and in vivo exposure (Foa, 2011). When compared with CPT, PE is a 10-session treatment (60-90 minutes) that is centered on both in-vivo and imaginal exposure to the trauma memory and ensuing adaptation. PE reports that repetitive stimulation of the trauma memory allows the clients to integrate new, counteractive information about themself and their world. Additionally, homework assignments in PE allow the client to face safe situations, which were formerly resolute to be threatening based upon inaccurate post-traumatic beliefs (Foa,

A child’s sense of self as separate from the world is formulated early in development. Children exposed to early trauma, especially by a primary care giver, develop a distorted sense of the self, others, and the world. When exposed to trauma, children become overwhelmed and are unable to effectively self-regulate thus leading to a disjointed sense of self. They have a tendency to lose hope and expect that life will be dangerous thus challenging their ability to survive (Terr, 1992). Survival becomes the predominant drive for children exposed to trauma and their focus becomes toward responding and adapting to a potentially threatening environment. Feelings of trust and the sense of self become compromised as resources are allocated toward coping with threats. Traumatized children experience guilt and low self-esteem and perceive themselves as unlovable and unworthy of protection or love (Johnson, 1985, 1987).

Emotional safety is promoted, there are appropriate boundaries, clients have control over their choices, the power is shared, and the client feels capable to meet their personal goals. According to this framework, trauma affects the way people approach helpful relationships. They may be reluctant to engage in or quickly to drop out of human services. This is where developing a trusting relationship and providing a safe environment becomes imperative. The framework also states that trauma usually preys particularly on the more vulnerable. This could mean people that are poor, have been diagnosed with severe mental health problems, are addicted to drugs, or have developmental disabilities. These factors should be kept in mind when working with Sarah. For example, if she does suffer from other mental health disorders, this should be taken into consideration with her treatment

* Explain how a mental health counselor could develop VT or STS in each of these traumatic events.

“American Psychiatric Association defines trauma as an event that represents a threat to life or personal integrity. Trauma can also be experienced when children are faced with a caregiver who acts erratically, emotional and /or physical neglect, and exploitation” (Maltby, L., & Hall, T. 2012. p. 304). Trauma comes in many different forms including: war, rape, kidnapping, abuse, sudden injury, and

The most damaging form of trauma is interpersonal trauma which is far more likely than other traumas, such as car accidents, to give rise to posttraumatic symptoms (Van der Kolk, 1989). Maybe the worst form of interpersonal trauma is that inflicted by a child’s carers. When a carer turns abuser, then the world feels unsafe and unpredictable. Serious abuse often leads to fear, helplessness, shame… (Music 206)

JCC realizes the impact of trauma on staff, families and children; It recognizes the signs and symptoms of trauma in clients, and JCC takes action to respond adequately and integrate the knowledge of trauma into their practice. GA and JCC seek to help their staff and clients from traumatization (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration [SAMHSA], 2015). For example, R. Paul (personal communication, April 25, 2015) stated that GA lack trauma professionals to help and support the youth. Therefore, GA works together with the Uplift Little Haiti and professional clinical social workers who help the children to address their trauma issues. JCC has a program for staff and employees where they come together to discuss and share about what is going on in their personal life and work environment. Also, JCC analyzes and evaluates what is life-giving through peer support environment. Furthermore, JCC has a special program every year, of trauma training for their case managers, T. Gaynor (Personal Communication, April 25, 2017). Therefore, GA and JCC are “sensitive to the reality of traumatic experiences” in the lives of the children, parents, staff, administration, youths, families and the community. (Bloom & Sreedhar, 2008, p.50). GA and JCC have an organizational system and treatment framework that includes recognizing, understanding, and responding to the impacts of all forms of trauma. They provide fundamental principles of trauma: “safety, peer support, trustworthiness, collaboration, mutuality, empowerment, voice, choice, and cultural(SAMHSA,

These negative effects are often called vicarious or secondary traumas. For instance, a clinician might hear the individual’s traumatic story and feel shocked, which can lead to changes in behavior, mood, and relationships. The clinician may also have intrusive thoughts concerning the individual’s traumatic story. Thus, it is important to have a plan to counteract these changes. It is vital for counselors to increase their education on trauma, such as attending workshops and conferences, reading books and articles, and attending webinars specifically for trauma. Clinician’s can also speak with other helping professionals who work with trauma victims to normalize their feelings and behaviors. As always, counselors can go speak with their supervisor when they are in this

When I decided to take the trauma course, I was hesitant at first to take it. I did not know what to expect nor felt I would be prepare listen to stories about traumatic occurrences, despite of the number of years I have worked in the field of community mental health. Therefore, now that we are in week eight, I am delighted to have taken this course. The impression I had at first, has changed my insight concerning what is trauma, as for many years, I did not understand why a person in many instances, could not process their trauma. In a quote by Chang stated, “The greater the doubt, the greater the awakening; the smaller the doubt, the smaller the awakening. No doubt, no awakening” (Van Der Kolk, 2014, p. 22). The goes in congruence with my understanding on trauma and how it has changed during this course. As a result, I feel I am awakening when acquiring more about trauma.

Judith Lewis Herman’s Trauma and Recovery provides not only greater understanding of how a traumatic event may defined but also the ways in which the effects of the experience may have a significantly repressing effect on the present and future self. Traumatic events are impressing on the self because they overwhelm the conventional emotional and physical perceptions that humanity has adjusted and modified their selves to. As traumatic events generally involve threats to the emotional and physical self, they differ from common misfortunes as they confront the victim with the feeling of extreme terror and helplessness that in result causes the individual to perceive the experience as one that was out of their control. As Herman reiterates, according to the Comprehensive Textbook of Psychiatry, “The common denominator of psychological trauma is a feeling of “intense fear, helplessness, loss of control, and threat of annihilation” (Herman 104). However, it is the response to the traumatic event in the emotional or conscious self that may differ from one another as there are three differing reactions to the terror factor of trauma: hyper-arousal, intrusion, and disconnection. Throughout this essay the work of Judith Lewis Herman’s Trauma and Recovery as well as Stephen Chbosky’s The Perks of Being a Wallflower will be utilized to illustrated the compromising effects a traumatic experience such as childhood sexual abuse may have on the development of a young teen and the ways in