As I'm preparing for my workshop on trauma, I thought it would be appropriate to re-read Judith Herman's classic book on trauma, "Trauma & Recovery".
She begins her book with a quote from Salman Rushie. This is an excerpt from the quote:
Repression is a seamless garment; a society which is authoritarian is its social and sexual codes, which crushes its women beneath the intolerable burdens of honour and properity, breeds repression of other kinds as well.
I would be super-excited if someone I was interviewing for a position responded to this quote when I asked them about the root causes of domestic and sexual violence.
Showing posts with label Recovery. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Recovery. Show all posts
Friday, April 11, 2008
Thursday, April 10, 2008
PWCL's Trauma & Recovery Workshop
Next Thursday at 12:30, I'll be facilitating a presentation on Trauma & Recovery. I initially intended this workshop to focus specifically on the effects of Childhood Sexual Abuse, but as I read more of the literature on trauma, I found that different types of trauma (domestic violence, sexual abuse & assault, and even natural disasters can have similiar effects on survivors.
Here is a brief excerpt from my presentation:
All trauma stresses the mind, body, and spirit. Traumatic events are objective. A hurricane wipes out a town, an uncle rapes his niece, a stranger mugs a man in an alley. Reactions to trauma are subjective, so how a person reacts to a traumatic situation varies on an individual basis. Individual reactions to trauma can be influenced by personal temperament (i.e. our psychological make-up), the trauma itself, and most importantly, how those around us responded to our experience of trauma. A child who tells her mother she is being molested by her grandfather resulting in the arrest of the grandfather, comfort from her parents, and counseling will fair much better in the long run than a child a who tells his parents he’s being molested by his babysitter only to have his parents scoff at him and tell him he made the whole thing up.
I'll spend some time talking about the effects of trauma, and a lot of time talking about how to recover from it. My talk will be appropriate for service providers who work with trauma survivors as well as trauma survivors themselves.
To register for the workshop, please e-mail events@pwcl.org.
Hope to see you next week!
Here is a brief excerpt from my presentation:
All trauma stresses the mind, body, and spirit. Traumatic events are objective. A hurricane wipes out a town, an uncle rapes his niece, a stranger mugs a man in an alley. Reactions to trauma are subjective, so how a person reacts to a traumatic situation varies on an individual basis. Individual reactions to trauma can be influenced by personal temperament (i.e. our psychological make-up), the trauma itself, and most importantly, how those around us responded to our experience of trauma. A child who tells her mother she is being molested by her grandfather resulting in the arrest of the grandfather, comfort from her parents, and counseling will fair much better in the long run than a child a who tells his parents he’s being molested by his babysitter only to have his parents scoff at him and tell him he made the whole thing up.
I'll spend some time talking about the effects of trauma, and a lot of time talking about how to recover from it. My talk will be appropriate for service providers who work with trauma survivors as well as trauma survivors themselves.
To register for the workshop, please e-mail events@pwcl.org.
Hope to see you next week!
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