Children and youth Children and youth exposed to domestic violence exposed to domestic violence

A responsive system A responsive system grounded in resiliencegrounded in resilience

Linda ChamberlainJordan SizeloveDevorah LevineKristin Bodiford

IntroductionsIntroductions

Please share one word

that describes resilience to you

PurposePurpose

Impact of exposure to domestic violenceIntroduction to resilience Research on neuroplasticity and resilienceBuilding a responsive system with the lens

of resilience

Children’s ExposureChildren’s Exposure

Visual - as “eyewitness”

Audio - hearing the violence

Tool of Perpetrator - used in event

Aftermath - the impact of violence

“Seeing my mom get beat is worse than being beat myself.” (Teen)

ImpactImpact

Adverse health outcomes

School health and performance

Greater rates of antisocial behavior, substance abuse, suicide attempt, mental illness

Linked to other forms of community violence

Voices of YouthVoices of Youth

“Violence effects kids’ behavior because they think it’s ok to pick on women and those smaller than them.” (Teen)

“Most of the times kids know domestic violence is wrong, but they are traumatized by seeing their mom get beat up. I hit my younger bothers and stole cars because I was so angry.” (Teen)

Shifting Our View Shifting Our View

Increase capacity

Build partnerships

Small tests for change

Strengths based framework

No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it. We must learn to see the world anew.” Einstein

We get to chooseWe get to choose

Strengths-based view…. Strengths-based view…. Does not ignore problems/difficulties or the critical

need to ameliorate/prevent the harm caused. Key assumptions are:

◦individuals, families, and communities are defined not by their difficulty, but rather by their multiple strengths,

◦the amelioration of current difficulties or the prevention of future difficulties begins with the identification and marshaling of these strengths.  

Kenneth Maton

Resilience … positive adaptation in the context of significant adversity

EnvironmentalInputsDEVELOPMENTALSUPPORTS & OPPORTUNITIES(Protective Factors)

In

FamiliesSchoolsOrganizationsCommunitiesPeers

Societal Impacts

THUSPRODUCING

POSITIVE PREVENTION&SUCCESSFULLIFE OUTCOMES

Individual Outputs

PROMOTINGPOSITIVEDEVELOPMENTALOUTCOMES

Social

Emotional

Cognitive

Moral-Spiritual

Individual Inputs

THAT MEETDEVELOPMENTALNEEDS

Love

Belonging

Respect

Power

Challenge

Mastery

Meaning

Safety

Caring Relationships

Positive Expectations

Meaningful Participation

Benard, 1991

VoiceVoice

BELIEFin

Resilience

Human Development Process >>Human Development Process >>Resilience in Action Resilience in Action

VoiceVoice

Who gets to decide? Who has a say?Whose voice is included?Whose voice is left out?

Choppin’ it Up Choppin’ it Up – Talking about – Talking about relationships and resiliencerelationships and resilience

www.choppinitup.org

Choppin’ it Up

Emerging Leaders

This is a story of one community’s commitment to create change.

Engaging the strengths of their youth.

DPC

Key questions from a Key questions from a resilience perspectiveresilience perspective

What impact does abuse in relationships have on you?

What does healthy mean to you? What does a healthy relationship look like?

How do you navigate to health?What do you need to support you?

Youth and Community Dialogue

Listening to stories of resilienceListening to stories of resilience

Multiplicity of identities, voices and stories

Creative resources and strengths

Sometimes powerful hidden resilience

Com

plex

ity

(www.choppinitup.org to hear stories of strength and resilience.)

Our own experiences with resilience

Beliefs >>Beliefs >>Influence LanguageInfluence Language

The beliefs we hold influence language

Language we use

Stories we tell

How often we tell them

Voices that are included

Voices that are left out

Language and Images Language and Images Generate ActionGenerate Action

Language and images lead to action

Positive images of our self and othersImages of the future from action and strengths in the presentWe get to choose which images propel us to resilience and thriving.

Cooperrider, D., Sorensen, P., Whitney, D., & Yaeger, T. (2001).

StatisticsStatisticsLet’s talk about statistics. Apparently I’m supposed to be pregnant, a drop out, disrespectful and have no morals.

I’m actually in school. I have a 3.5 grade point average. I have goals and morals.

I plan on going to school and majoring in pre law and criminal justice.

The Amazing Brain:The Amazing Brain:Risk Risk andand Resiliency Resiliency

Neuroplasticity=the ability of the human brain to adapt and change in response to experience and environment.

What is Trauma?What is Trauma?

“Overwhelming demands placed on the physiological system that result in a profound felt sense of vulnerability and/or loss of control.” (Robert Macy)

Bassuk, Konnath & Volk, 2006

TRAUMA

BRAIN

HPA Axis

Stress hormones

Brain always prioritizes survival

Cascade of physical, mental,cognitive and behavioral effects

Sequential Development of a ChildSequential Development of a Child’’s Brains Brain

Abstract Thought Problem solvingAffiliationAttachmentEmotional ReactivityMotor RegulationSleepDigestionBlood PressureHeart RateRespirationBody Temperature

Peter Camburn

NE

UR

OP

LA

ST

ICIT

Y

Sequential VulnerabilitySequential Vulnerability

Poor social skillsReading decrementSpeech problemsAttention problemsSeparation anxietyAggressive behaviorsHypervigilanceFailure to thriveStomach problemsSleep problemsLow stress tolerance

Peter Camburn

What other effects does violence have on children?

Understanding Experiences

Developmental

Tasks

Coping Strategies

EnvironmentalBuffers

Healing And

Recovery

Adapted from diagram on promoting social & emotional well-beingTo facilitate healing/recovery by Commissioner Bryan Samuels, ACYF

What Children Exposed to DV Need What Children Exposed to DV Need

Bancroft, 2004

Survival first!

Social connections build brain connections

Skill-building for impulse control & self-soothing

Feel physically and emotionally safe

Strong bond to non-battering parent

Express feelings & frustrations in non-destructive ways

Have their strengths praised and called upon

Promote self-esteem and competency to explore & experience the world

RESILIENCY NEUROPLASTICITY

What We Can DoWhat We Can Do

Magic Trees of the Mind” by Dr. Marian Diamond

•Developmentally appropriate Developmentally appropriate experiences to heal the brainexperiences to heal the brain

•Babies learn best through social Babies learn best through social interactionsinteractions

•Increase child-adult timeIncrease child-adult time

•Reduce exposure to media Reduce exposure to media violence and violence and ““media parentingmedia parenting””

•Active, experiential learning, Active, experiential learning, enrichment programsenrichment programs

•Head StartHead Start

•Home visitationHome visitation

WIC

Nurtured Heart Approach

SEL in Schools

Shelter, INC Parent Support

Foster Youth Health Collaborative

Choppin’ it Up

Teen Dating Abuse

Head Start

DiscussionDiscussion

www.familiesthrive.orgwww.familiesthrive.orginfo@familiesthrive.orginfo@familiesthrive.org

NEUROPLASTICITY AND THENEUROPLASTICITY AND THE IMPACT OF VIOLENCE ON CHILDREN: IMPACT OF VIOLENCE ON CHILDREN:

RISK AND RESILIENCYRISK AND RESILIENCY

Linda Chamberlain PhD MPHAlaska Family Violence Prevention Project

Best Practices to PromoteBest Practices to Promote Resiliency and Neuroplasticity Resiliency and Neuroplasticity

Healing relationships◦Work with nonbattering parent & children

Social emotional learning & skills ◦Empathy

Social supportTrauma-informed parenting skills

ResourceResource www.instituteforsafefamilies.org

Resource: Strategies to Resource: Strategies to Strengthen Strengthen Non-battering Parent-Child BondNon-battering Parent-Child Bond

ReassuranceBe willing to talk about the violenceAsk how the violence made them

feelEncourage healthy coping strategies

Baker L, Cunningham A. Helping Children Thrive: Supporting Women Abuse Survivors as Mothers. 2004. www.lfac.on.ca

Resource: A Kid is So Special (KISS)Resource: A Kid is So Special (KISS)

Series of booklets developed by the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic ViolenceThese interactive booklets are designed to strengthen mother-child bonds

◦“Growing Together” discusses child development

◦ “Playing Together” includes information on what a parent can do when there is hurting at home

Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence (PCADV) at 800-537-2238

Best Practices: Child-Parent Psychotherapy Best Practices: Child-Parent Psychotherapy (CPP)(CPP)

Tailored to age & development stage of childConsiders child in context of parental relationship

- supporting mother as primary intervention Flexible intervention model includes:Crisis stabilization and advocacyFacilitate child’s expression through play, verbalization,

acting out fears, and angerHelp mother to understand child’s behaviors and find

protective ways to respondModeling appropriate protective behaviors

www.ncts.org; Lieberman et al, 1997; 2006

Child Parent PsychotherapyChild Parent Psychotherapy

At end of one-year treatment period (RCT Lieberman et al,2005):

◦Children had fewer behavioral problems, decreased trauma symptoms, and less likely to be diagnosed with PTSD

◦Mothers have fewer postttraumatic stress avoidance symptoms

◦Six months after intervention ended, children had fewer behavior problems and mothers had fewer psychiatric symptoms (RCT, Lieberman et al, 2006)

IQ and Exposure to DVIQ and Exposure to DV

Dose response relationship between level of severity of children’s cumulative exposure to DV and IQ scores (Koenen et al, 2003)

Trauma-specific treatment (CPP) improves IQ {performance, verbal, and full scale} scores (Lieberman et al, 2005)

This is not about changing youth. It is about unearthing what already exists, transforming narratives about youth to highlight their strengths, their hopes, and their dreams.

(Whitney & Trosten-Bloom, 2010)

TransformationTransformation

Beliefs >> Beliefs >> Support Resilience Support Resilience

Resilience begins with beliefs

Resilience begins with a change in consciousness, beginning with an act of belief, often in the face of accumulated evidence to the contrary.

Gervase Bushe 2002 (Adapted)

We coordinate with the resources and people

around us, •generating alternative ways,•for “going on together” or living our lives, •to survive and thrive in the face of challenge.

Resilience >> RelationalResilience >> Relational

Resilience is our ability to ‘go on together’.

We develop capacity to support each other

through building relationships of: • trust, • reciprocity, and • caring.

Resilience >> CommunityResilience >> Community

Resilience grows from our ability to support each other in community.

Negotiations between individuals and their environments:for the resources to define themselves as healthy amidst conditions collectively viewed as adverse.

Systems that are responsive, build resilience.

Resilience is contextual, supported by responsive systems.

Resilience >> SystemsResilience >> Systems

Michael Ungar

Resilience>>Resilience>>Responsive SystemsResponsive Systems

Community and Systems Community and Systems DisintegrationDisintegration

Breakdown of community lifeLoss of social capital Loss of linkages that

create sense of identity and belonging

Increased disconnection

The forces of community disintegration have gained steadily and will prevail unless we nurture community and reweave the social fabric. John Gardner

Threat to those most vulnerable: •children •youth•young families •elders

Resilience >> Resilience >> Building CommunityBuilding Community

Quality of caring for each otherQuality of caring for each otherStrong neighborhood, organizational Strong neighborhood, organizational

and community networksand community networksPositive social dynamics in communityPositive social dynamics in communityHigh collective efficacyHigh collective efficacyHigh levels of trust and reciprocityHigh levels of trust and reciprocity

While research shows us the absence of strong positive community contexts can be devastating, the presence of strong positive community contexts can be transformational.

The social fabric is at the core for resilience along the lifespan.

Resilience>>Resilience>>CollaborationCollaborationEffective community and multisystem collaboration depends on:

Responsive Systems>>Responsive Systems>>PrototypingPrototyping

Caring – Reflexive and responsive to individuals, families and communities

Capacity & Competency – Increasing our knowledge and skills. Changing policies and practices.

Communication & Connection – Regular and ongoing communication. Creating shared language. Developing relationships.

Coordination & Collaboration – Developing partnerships.

Environmental FactorsEnvironmental Factors

Change environmental policies and practices

Address issues of social injusticeReflect on beliefs, voice and language we

use, stories we tell in systems.Shift relational norms