Alan Sroufe, Professor Emeritus of Child Psychology at the University of Minnesota, describes the necessary bond between parent and child this way (as cited in Divecha, 2017): Attachment is a relationship in the service of a baby’s emotion regulation and exploration. It is the deep, abiding confidence a baby has in the availability and responsiveness of the Caregiver. This quote … Read More
Understanding Trauma
What is a common public health threat that often goes unacknowledged and untreated – even by many caregivers and public health professionals? The pervasiveness of trauma and its widespread impact on a person’s life often keep it hidden under physical, emotional or behavioural symptoms that don’t get recognized for what they are. Without recognition, this all too common phenomena can … Read More
PTSD Awareness – Become Trauma Informed
Anyone can be affected by post-traumatic stress. Post-traumatic stress disorder is not only for mental or physical health professionals to know about. It is essential that everyone become trauma-informed in order to prevent PTSD, to protect and seek help for themselves or loved ones, and to mitigate the ongoing effects that can build over time from a traumatic experience. Increasing … Read More
Trauma: The Brain-Body-Mind Connection
Last month’s blog highlighted the ever more utilized term of trauma. As that post stated, trauma is used here to refer to an experience that is fear-inducing and shocks one’s experience of self and experience with the outside world. An experience of trauma triggers the brain’s fight-flight-freeze response system (also known as the autonomic nervous system). This sends an automatic … Read More
Helping Refugees – Trauma and Transformation
With millions of people needing to flee their homes and seek refuge in other parts of the world, the stories of refugee individuals and families will interweave with people all over the world. If you are one offering support in some fashion, how will your own story be influenced by theirs? Many of us as helpers are familiar with stories … Read More
Developmental Trauma – 3 Ways to Build Secure Healing Relationships
Trauma has become a household word used in everyday vocabulary. The real deal is anything but an everyday experience, however. The word trauma usually evokes images of threatening or devastating events such as near-death accidents, assaults, wars, or natural disasters. More common, and sometimes overlooked, are the experiences that involve persistent doses of fear and helplessness within the daily relationships … Read More
PTSD Awareness: Become Trauma-Informed
Anyone can be affected by post-traumatic stress. Post-traumatic stress disorder is not only for mental or physical health professionals to know about. It is essential that everyone become trauma-informed in order to prevent PTSD, to protect and seek help for themselves or loved ones, and to mitigate the ongoing effects that can build over time from a traumatic experience. Increasing … Read More
3 Reasons to Become Trauma-Informed
For Those Who Work with Youth in Conflict with the Law Consider the following three vignettes: A middle-aged man overdoses on crack cocaine and is found dead in a rooming house by the landlord (…after his parole officer phones with regard to his whereabouts). A teenager is caught breaking into a house in a suburban part of a city by … Read More
Intergenerational Trauma, Healing and Resiliency
Leaving Home “I still remember the smell of the cold metal inside the float plane. It took me far away from home and I was never the same after that.” There was a long silence. In a broken voice, the speaker went on, “They took my culture, they took my language, they took me from my family, my people, the … Read More