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By the end of the preso we’d like you to…
• Understand the basics of trauma
• Understand the stress response and how it relates to people experiencing trauma
• Understand the relationship between homelessness and trauma
• Develop a better understanding of trauma through hearing a personal experience of trauma
• Understand the recovery journey
• Feel equipped with the tools and knowledge to support visitors experiencing trauma
• Ask us questions!
What is trauma?
• Any event that involves exposure to actual or threatened death, serious injury or violence AND where the person's response involved intense fear, helplessness, or horror has the POTENTIAL to be traumatic.
• “Traumatic events are extraordinary, not because they occur rarely, but rather because they overwhelm the ordinary human adaptations to life.” Judith Herman
AIHW.GOV.AU
Interpersonal Trauma and Attachment
• Involves the use or abuse of power or betrayal by one person (or group of people) over another person (or group of people)
• Trauma that occurs at the hands of another person (or group of people) has the potential to impact on the way the person understands and forms other relationships throughout their life, including relationships with services.
Understanding the Stress Response
• Understanding the stress response is important in understanding the traumatic stress response.
Biologically hard-wired
Essential for survival
Threat detection
Hard to unlearn
Response to Threat: Low Road Activation
Threat perceive
dFlight/fight activated
Stimulus
Hypothalamus Pituitary
Adrenal AxisAccelerator SNS
Sensory Data
Thalamus Information
Forwarded AmygdalaThalamus
Response to Threat: High Road Activation
Amygdala
Thalumus
Hippocampus
Hypothalamus Pituitary Adrenal Axis
Stimulus
Sensory Data
Sensory CortexInterpret
possible multi meanings
No danger
Trauma and Homelessness
• ?% of homeless adults in inner Sydney reported at least one major trauma in their lives (?% of the general Australian report one lifetime trauma)
• ?% had experienced two or more traumatic events (average six trauma experiences)
• ?% experienced trauma prior to 16 years old• Homeless people also report traumatic
experiences during homeless episodes• Homelessness itself can be considered
traumaticRobinson 2010, Taylor and Sharpe 2008
A Local Perspective
Event %
Seriously physically attacked or assaulted 76.8
Witnesses someone being badly injured or killed 75
Threatened with a weapon, held captive or kidnapped 64.3
Involved in a life-threatening accident 60.7
Sexually molested 44.6
Involved in a fire, flood or other natural disaster 42.9
Raped 33.9
Tortured or the victim of terrorists 12.5
Any other extremely stressful or upsetting event 10.7
Direct combat experience in war 3.6
Suffered great shock due to one of the events above happening to someone close
44.6
Trauma experience of homeless adults in inner city Sydney Sharpe 2008
There Are Many Frames
– Biological– Abuse or trauma– Environmental– Spiritual or philosophical– Political – Creative – Developmental – Cultural – Social and emotional wellbeing– and more…
Biological Frame
The ‘problem’ is:– Biologically based– Medical “mental illness”, “mental disorder”– Disordered brain chemistry– Genetic vulnerability
The effect is:– a loss of cognitive ability and social functioning
Recovery might involve:– Acceptance and education about the disease and ‘treatment’– Competent providers such as psychiatrists – Finding the right medication(s)– Integrating illness into self‐concept– Acknowledging limitations and finding connections which
accommodate limitations
Abuse or Trauma Frame
The problem is:– history of severe (often childhood) abuse or
trauma
The effect is:– Results in loss of sense of self– Loss of self creates behaviour which others
diagnose as mental illness or disorder– Mental health services ‘treatment’ become
further sources of abuse or trauma
Recovery might involve:– Reclaiming a sense of self– Taking control over one’s life– Finding ways (externally and internally) – to confront the abuse and trauma
Safety is Necessary for Healing
• Safety in environments (Physical safety)
• Safety within your own
body (Intrapersonal safety)
• Safety in relationships (Interpersonal safety)
• Safety in systems (Justice
and systemic safety)
Physical Safety
• Many visitors are homeless
• Many visitors are abused
• Wayside provides a safe daytime environment
Intrapersonal Safety
• Triggers– Any cue that elicits a memory– Blood, noise, smells, behaviours
etc.
• Memory of trauma can intrude without warning
• People may not be aware of what their triggers are
• Learning your triggers can provide power over them
Interpersonal Safety
Trauma informed supportive relationships are R.I.C.H.
• Respect is conveyed and felt• Information is shared and transparent• Connection is negotiated• Hope is felt and conveyed
Understanding
• Visitors may be anywhere in the recovery process
• Behaviours are symptoms, not personally directed
• How the visitor “frames” their experience, their beliefs
• Be consistent – show up and be present
• Boundaries and capacity (passing to community worker)
Applying the Knowledge
• Group Activity• Read the scenario• Based on what you’ve heard
today, discuss how you, as a volunteer, would respond to the situation
• Explain your response to the group