“Being able to dream is recovery on its own.” These are words that glued to me.
In a field often associated with best care practices, do’s and don’ts, and “always been done this way” doctrines, it is easy to detach from the basic healing properties of our own profound and human selves. In an era of heightened chatter, heaviness and reactivity, it is often easier to take the role of commuter rather than conductor, and while riding along can give us a sense of letting go, it is often easy to forget where you’ve been, where you are and where you are going.
As a response to these characteristics and the barriers they can place on front line workers, Brian Dean Williams, a therapist, workshop leader, and meditation facilitator shared with us a variety of multi-functional practices, internal recognitions and mindful connections back to the self throughout his 2-day training on Trauma-Informed Practice. Teaching us that by successfully connecting with ourselves we can effectively connect back to the people we help.
On the first day of this 2-day training series, we explored Trauma-Informed Practice: Co-creating Safety and Choice for Survivors, the following are 3 of my major learnings from the first day of this CAEH training opportunity:
Understanding Trauma
Trauma is a working definition. As stated in the training, trauma is “a socially constructed disintegration of our ability to connect with our physical, mental, interpersonal, and emotional world. A result of an adverse event or events that interrupt our ability to cope, at a neurobiological and interpersonal level.” For many, especially in cases of colonization, displacement or removal from family and tradition; trauma can be a shared experience of disconnection from self, while healing is the entity of re-connection.
“Trauma-informed care encourages support and treatment to the whole person, rather than focus on only treating individual symptoms or specific behaviors.”
The Power of Choice
During our training, we were presented with five principles of Trauma-Informed Practice (find in the CAEH Training 5 Day 1 Trauma Informed Care PowerPoint), with Choice, Collaboration, and Connection as one of them. This principle stood out to me as it informs front line staff that despite our best intentions, all processes should include a foundation of autonomy and personal control for those we assist. Trauma-Informed Practice provides a collaborative approach to client services by integrating feedback and customization. As stated by Brian, by leveling power relationships and, “being transparent about areas where we can’t,” we can carefully create an environment of trust and respect.
Limitations of TIP? Looking past TIP
While Trauma-Informed Practice and Care can provide a client with trust, control and safety, it has often been criticized for only treating half of the equation (the individual), while leaving out the broken systems, policies and practices that harbor environments of trauma in the first place. “There is a risk of focusing on the treatment of pathology (trauma), rather than fostering the possibility (well-being). Everyone wants to be happy not just have less misery.”
If the answer is in healing our collective environment and focusing less on trauma itself, then where do we move on from here?
A simple answer to this question would not give justice to our very unsimple reality. However, working toward new paradigms of society and healing can help. Brian’s final teachings of the day poked at the idea of collective change and surfaced the opportunity of Healing Centered Practice.
From this discussion, the quote, “being able to dream is recovery on its own,” stood out to me. For me, dreams signify hope and each of our birthrights to hope. These words offered me permission to envision my dream society as one where every single individual is given the opportunity to live each day thinking past their basic means of survival.
A society that can dream is a society I hope we can all one day be a part of.
- CAEH Training 5 Day 1 Trauma Informed Care PowerPoint
- Day-2 Blog Post: https://victoriahomelessness.ca/mindfulness-as-we-care-a-day-with-brian-williams/
Below is the video playlist from day-1 of Brian Dean Williams Trauma-Informed Practice: Co-creating Safety and Choice for Survivor’s training session.
