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.