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Be Calm. Be Kind. Be Safe. – Dr. Bonnie Henry

Trauma-Informed Practice and Building Resilience during COVID-19

Facilitators name(s):Nancy Poole, Justice Institute of BCLenora Marcellus, University of VictoriaElizabeth Poag, Camosun College

June 10, 2020

Territorial Acknowledgement

We gratefully acknowledge and honour the territory and the lands on which we are gathered:

In Victoria, the Lekwungen people (Songhees and Esquimalt Nations), and WSÁNEĆ (Saanich).

And other numerous nations across British Columbia - type yours in the chat!

TRAUMA INFORMED PRACTICE

• Trauma informed approaches are relational ones that take into account how common the experience and enduring effects of trauma can be

• TIP is not a counselling technique, instead it is a paradigm for providing support, structuring learning environments, and creating organizational culture change

• TIP is not based on disclosing trauma. Instead it can be seen as a “universal precaution” that is offered when working with everyone

• TIP is based on principles that include creating safety, promoting choice and building skills

Trauma informed approaches are being adopted by many agencies and systems - addictions, child welfare, homelessness, justice, health, education . . . .

https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/health/child-teen-mental-health/trauma-informed_practice_guide.pdf

http://bccewh.bc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/2013_TIP-Guide.pdf

BEING INFORMED ABOUT TRAUMA

▪ Decades of work about violence against women and women’s health

▪ Wisdom from Indigenous scholars and community-based knowledge keepers

▪ Research from public health on Adverse Childhood Experiences

▪ Understanding of neurobiology

TIP CONNECTS UP KNOWLEDGE FROM DIFFERENT

FIELDS

DEFINING TRAUMA

Trauma is a response to experience(s) that are overwhelming; significantly compromising our sense of safety.

The experience of trauma is unexpected, and beyond our ability to stop

Disrupts our world view/understanding of the world as safe, and/or predictable, and disrupts cognitive and emotional regulation and/or functioning; forces changes in the ways in which we cope

Therefore – it is not necessarily the event itself that is traumatic, but rather the impact of the event on our sense of safety, and of ourselves.

WHY DO WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND TRAUMA?

It is important to understand the effects of trauma and the links to other challenges that students and faculty face, so that we can work in a way that:

• honours what has happened in people’s lives

• does not add to people’s burdens, by retraumatizing

• notices how people are coping, their strength and resilience

• helps people build further positive skills for coping or healing

TYPES OF TRAUMA

Complex trauma: the effects of trauma experiences that happen multiple times; over time (eg/ ongoing abuse, domestic violence, war)

Single incident trauma – the effects of a trauma experience such as a natural disaster, an accident, or a sudden unexpected loss

Developmental trauma: the effects of exposure to trauma as infants, children or youth. Includes neglect, abandonment, abuse, witnessing violence or death, and/or coercion or betrayal. This interferes with healthy attachment and development.

Intergenerational trauma: effects that can be experienced by people who live with trauma survivors. Coping patterns developed in response to trauma can be passed on from one generation to the next

GROUP AND HISTORICAL TRAUMA

A trauma informed practice needs inclusion of how colonization worked cumulatively to create complex trauma.

Renee Linklater

A trauma informed response system can mean that long negative effects are avoided.

Traumatic Event

Experience of the event(Survival response: Fight/Flight/Freeze)

Long term effects – continued physical and mental health concerns,

adverse effects on relationships, community connections and

spirituality

Medium term effects –not able to stabilize or self regulate

Medium term effects –able to stabilize, self regulate, make

meaning of the event

Long term effects – physical and mental health, resilience, positive

connections to family, community and spirituality

Exposure to cumulative traumatic events creates a

cycle of effects

Long term effects may be large or small, may lessen or worsen over time, and will vary for different individuals

WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE

Adapted from https://trauma-informed.ca/

RESPONSES TO TRAUMA

Biological responses • Release of stress hormone cortisol • In the moment, biological responses might

look like crying, tight muscles, shallow breathing, heart pounding, feeling numb, feeling agitated . . .

• Long-term activation of the nervous system can lead to poor health outcomes

Psychological responses• When the limbic system (emotional centre of

the brain) is engaged, the “thinking brain” is less accessible, leading to difficulties with learning, memory, and reasoning

• Impacts can include intrusive memories, nightmares, flashbacks

Social responses• Difficulty navigating relationships with others• Isolation and avoiding people, conversations,

situations, places, objects and feelings, thoughts and bodily sensations

• Reactivity, heightened emotional responses

Spiritual responses• Compromised sense of self – low self-

esteem/concept of self-worth• Loss of sense of purpose, loss of hope• Loss of connection to self and others• Loss of faith/beliefs; changes in core values• Persistent guilt, anger, and/or fear

IMMEDIATE EFFECTS OF FEELING THREATENED OR OVERWHELMED

• When we are threatened, our “fight or flight” system is activated

• We cannot control the “fight or flight” response, it arises from our autonomic nervous system

• For many trauma survivors, this system is activated when interactions or environments mimic trauma experiences. This response can be triggered by actual threats as well as perceived threats, or things that remind us of past harm

• When our fight or flight system is activated, we cannot “calm down” until we feel safe again

Davidson, S. (2017). Trauma informed practices for post-secondary education: A guide. Education Northwest.

https://www.chronicle.com/article/Covid-19-Has-Worsened-the/248753

https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/11-627-m/11-627-m2020032-eng.htm

IS THIS VIEW OF TRAUMA AND TRAUMA INFORMED ALIGNED WITH YOUR PREVIOUS UNDERSTANDING? HAS ANYTHING NEW

EMERGED FOR YOU?

WORKING FROM PRINCIPLES

THESE 4 PRINCIPLES HELP US APPLY TRAUMA INFORMED APPROACHES

Awareness Safety and Trustworthiness

Choice, Control,

Collaboration

Strength, Skills and

Empowerment

1. Awareness of the prevalence and impacts of trauma, and the adaptations that people make to cope

2. Creating safety and fostering trust

3. Offering choice and control, fostering collaboration

4. Supporting the development of specific skills

AWARE

We can bring into our work awareness:

1. Of the effects of trauma – the wide range of responses survivors have

2. Of the implications for learning (e.g. survivors possibly expressing feelings of anger, mistrust, fear, refusal of help)

3. Of resilience – we are not case-seeking for trauma, but instead we are seeking for (and enhancing) resilience

4. Of the implications for educators as well (vicarious trauma)

What are we doing to bring awareness of trauma and coping responses into our work?

Am I paying attention to signs of distress?

Do I know where resources and supports are located and the process of accessing these?

SAFETY AND TRUSTWORTHINESS

Central to trauma informed approaches are:

1. Creating safety to discuss the challenges facing individuals, families and communities

2. Safety that is physical , emotional, spiritual and cultural.

3. Consideration of how to move from confrontational and directive approaches to ones that build relationship and trust .

What are we doing to bring safety and trustworthiness into our work

Is the learning environment calm and inviting?

Have I created rules for engagement in the classroom?

CHOICE, COLLABORATION AND CONNECTION

1. TIP is a relational practice

2. Reparative of overwhelming and power-over experiences

3. Supportive of people having agency, self determination and ‘power within’

What are we doing to promote choice, collaboration and connection?

Have I created a classroom where we view one another as allies

How do we address accountability concerns?

STRENGTHS BASED

1. TIP aligns well with what Indigenous experts have identified as the importance of starting from strengths not deficits

2. It involves acknowledging resilience and enhancing coping and healing strategies.

• What are we doing to enhance strengths, recognize and build resilience?

• How do I incorporate students as experts in their own learning experiences?

• How have I acknowledged and addressed implicit biases and their effect on teaching and learning?

SKILL BUILDING

• What are we doing to practice and teach skills?

• How do I recognize strengths and resiliencies?

• Do students have an ability to negotiate an alternate assignment if the course assignment will put them at risk?

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/b-c-government-launches-new-mental-health-service-for-post-secondary-students-1.5535025

SKILLS AND STRENGTHS - CONNECTIONS FOR STUDENTS

POST-SECONDARY STRATEGIES SUMMARY

• Strengthen connection to students – relational teaching

• Validate their experiences

• Be flexible with enacting syllabus and disciplinary processes, balancing with maintaining academic integrity and quality of program (“high expectations, high support”)

• Be open to various forms of accommodation

• Understand trauma symptomatology and differentiate from student misconduct

• Reach out early if you sense a student is struggling

• Establish routines within virtual contexts, create some sense of certainty and structure

• Create or facilitate development of social networks

• Encourage students to maintain positive self-care activities

• Be aware of your institution’s resources

WHAT STANDS OUT AS A TRAUMA INFORMED APPROACH THAT YOU ARE

ALREADY USING?

BEING TRAUMA INFORMED AT THE ORGANIZATIONAL LEVEL

SELF CARE AND DEBRIEFING – FOR EDUCATORS

It is important to note that it is not only about individual teachers using TIP but about whole organizations and systems changing their cultures.

This image of that organizational change process comes from the Trauma Transformed group in the Bay AreaSource:

http://traumatransformed.org/wp-content/uploads/Copy-of-TOTIHO-Updated-040319-11x17_Healing-Organization-Chart.pdf

Awareness Safety and Trustworthiness

Choice, Control,

CollaborationEmpowerment

Strengths-based, Focus on Skill-

building

PRINCIPLES OF TIP

TRAUMA RESPONSIVE PEDAGOGY

• Davidson, S. (2017). Trauma informed practices for post-secondary education: A guide. Education Northwest.

• Gutierrez, D. & Gutierrez, A. (2019). Developing a trauma-informed lens in the college classroom and empowering students through building positive relationships. Contemporary Issues in Education Research, 12(1), 11-18.

• Sanders, J. E. (2019). Teaching note—Trauma-informed teaching in social work. Journal of Social Work Education, 1-8. DOI: https://doi-org.ezproxy.library.uvic.ca/10.1080/10437797.2019.1661923

• Alberta Health Services Trauma informed Care Learning Modules https://www.albertahealthservices.ca/info/Page15526.aspx

WHAT STANDS OUT AS AN IDEA OR APPROACH YOU WILL TAKE AWAY FROM

TODAY?