Introduction to Restoring Sanctuary
Part 1
Dr. Dawn-Elise Snipes, Executive Director AllCEUs Counselor Continuing Education
Podcast Host: Counselor Toolbox
Based in part on…
Objectives
~ Review types of trauma
~ Define sanctuary
~ Explore where to create sanctuary
~ Identify why sanctuary is important to change
~ Learn about the impact of trauma
Types of Trauma–Individual
~ Physical, emotional or sexual abuse victim or witness (At home, in the community, at school…)
~ Neglect
~ Household member with addiction or significant mental illness
~ Gaslighting
~ Accident, illness, medical procedure, birth trauma (Medical trauma)
~ Historical trauma
~ Natural and man made disasters
~ Forced displacement
~ Military or community violence
~ Traumatic grief or separation (death, jail, divorce)
Trauma and the Organization
~ An estimated 70 percent of adults in the United States have experienced a trauma (employees, caregivers, providers…)
~ This means that traumatized individuals who are likely reenacting their own trauma dynamics are the ones running the environments in which people are supposed to recover from trauma.
~ Organizations are living, adaptive systems which are vulnerable to stress, particularly chronic stress.
~ Organizations can be traumatized and the result of traumatic experience can be devastating
Types of Trauma–Organization
~ Physical, emotional or sexual abuse primary or secondary victimization
~ Neglect (Senior management not providing necessary tools, resources, safety)
~ Team members or clients with addiction or significant mental illness
~ Gaslighting
~ Historical trauma
~ Natural and man made disasters
~ Forced displacement (Transfers, program closing, terminations)
~ Community violence (Bad reputation in the community)
~ Traumatic grief or separation (death, jail, divorce)
Impact of Trauma
~ Issues of exposure to trauma and adversity in childhood are central to the development of most mental illness
~ Early attachment determines how people interpret and interact with the world
~ Biological (stress, hypocortisolism, sleep difficulty)
~ Emotional (triggers and regulation, inability to grieve and anticipate the future)
~ Cognitive (attitude, perception, schemas, efficacy (concrete operational and egocentric))
~ Social (empathy, trust, communication, boundaries, difficulty with authority)
Impact of Trauma
~ Behavioral Urges, Knowledge, Emotion, Physiological reactions (UKEP)
~ Are stored and assimilated or accommodated
~ Can be recalled
~ When exposed to highly stressful situations the brain is flooded with neurochemicals that make it difficult to remember and integrate what is going on
~ Poorly integrated UKEP can cause hypervigilance, body memories, flashbacks
Impact of Trauma
~ Failure to integrate experiences leads to
~ Adaptive coping which leads to
~ Habit formation
~ Symptoms/Clinically significant distress
~ Like assembling a piece of furniture and having 6 parts left over.
Symptoms that Cope with Violence
~ Aggression (verbal and physical)
~ Self-injurious behavior (cutting, addictions, eating disorders)
~ High risk behaviors
~ “Antisocial” behaviors
~ “Borderline” behaviors
~ Creating drama and chaos
Why Sanctuary is Important to Change
~ The impact of traumatic experience is so profound because it tends to freeze children in time, trapping them in a seemingly endless feedback loop of destructive repetition that is conveyed from one generation to the next via disruptions in attachment relationships
~ The focus of attention changes from exclusively trying to control the child’s behavior – or misbehavior