Building Resiliency:

Bridges to the New Normal

Centre for Living with Dying Programof Bill Wilson Center

Dr. Janet Childs AAETS-Diplomate

Bay Area Critical Incident Stress Management Team

Centre for Living with Dying program of Bill Wilson Center

What are Trauma & Stress?

OCCUPATIONAL

DELAYED

CUMULATIVE

ACUTE

TYPESOF

STRESS

Emotional trauma is similar to physical injury

Stress is the natural response to any

change or loss

Services

Healing Heart Group

Support Groups

Individual Services

Community and Responder Critical Incident

Stress Response

Family CISR

Education Programs

Circle of Care for HIV Program

Light of Lights Ceremony

What is the Centre?

• Support, Education and Intervention

• for the life issues of death, dying,

stress, trauma, grief and loss.

• Since 1976, the Centre has provided

group and individual support to over

1.5 million people

• Our Founder, MaryAnne Kelly’s story

Post-vention in the aftermath of completed suicide. . .

Stigma, isolation and trauma – Conspiracy of silence

is social, physical, mental, spiritual & emotional

knows no time

has landmines

comes in unpredictable waves

Requires ongoing group, family and individual support

Bay Area CISM

It is never too late to respond.

Dimensions of Change

Magnitude of Loss

Circle of Meaning

Spiral of reactions

Sensory, Time & Memory Triggers

Heart HotelBay Area CISM

What’s in your backpack…

Present Stress

PTSD now is PTSI

Can become PTG

Tending and Befriending*

OOC = Control

Isolation = Community

*Kelly McGonagal: The Upside of Stress

Heart Hotel

Everyone we love has a room in our heart hotel.

When they die or leave, no one can take their place in that room.

We can add rooms as we meet new people we wish to be in our heart.

Heart Hotel

How to Support Others & Yourself: What is Needed

Bay Area CISM

Presence

Space

Listening

Acknowledgement

Honesty

Choice

Validation

VALIDATE

Basis of Support

Stay in the present moment.

Normalize grief/stress response.

Focus on most difficult issue RIGHT NOW.

Access what is needed RIGHT NOW.

No easy way over grief: Building the “New Normal.”

Bay Area CISM

Walk Talk• Moving Forward. Breathing.

• Equal Relationship: Balance of

power.

• Out in Nature/Fresh Air.

• Neutral Environment.

• Less ‘Counseley’. More natural.

Triage

Breathe.

Drink plenty of water.

Move.

Eat.

Give yourself a break.

Ground: Get in the present moment.

Identify: what is the most difficult and what do I need to get through it right now.

Tools for Survival

Bay Area CISM

ACKNOWLEDGE

EXPRESS

ACT

RECONNECT

Remember as you walk forward….

Bay Area CISM

Be gentle with your own process.

What you do makes a difference in people’s lives.

We have today. Savor what’s good in your life

now.

Do something fun & life affirming for yourself in

the next 24 hours.