tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-247397212024-03-07T12:48:44.684-05:00Trauma Treatment for ChildrenExplores the theory and practice of trauma informed and relationship based treatment for children and adolescents, using the Restorative Approach. ©2006 The Restorative Approach is a servicemark of the Klingberg Family Centers, Inc.Patricia Wilcox, LCSWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07444420374748925069noreply@blogger.comBlogger319125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739721.post-38713478359749549292014-11-09T09:13:00.003-05:002014-11-09T09:14:27.031-05:00Partner for HealingI would like to invite all followers of this blog to join me at:<br />
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Please join our new community.</div>
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<a href="http://prtnerforhealing.org/" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;"><b>Partner for Healing</b></span></a></div>
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We are dedicated to supporting you with usable tools to solve problems, assist in training, and increase the effectiveness of the treatment that you offer to trauma survivors.</div>
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<span _mce_style="color: #006633; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;" style="color: #006633; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Already we have offered a checklist for how administration can support trauma-informed care, and another one for support staff. We have shared a training tool for tackling staff resistance. We provided an infographic about what trauma-informed care really is, and another providing steps for beginning your transformation. We just added a blog post about how being a trauma survivor affects being a parent. More valuable resources will be coming on topics like trauma-informed treatment planning, behavior management in foster care, and vicarious traumatization. </span></div>
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<span _mce_style="color: #006633; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;" style="color: #006633; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">You can't afford to miss all these free tools! Please head to:</span></div>
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<span _mce_style="color: #006633; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;" style="color: #006633; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /> </span></div>
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<span _mce_style="color: #006633; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;" style="color: #006633; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://partnerforhealing.org/" target="_blank">Partner for Healing</a></span></h2>
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and join us now.</div>
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<strong>We have developed an online support service to help you offer the effective and powerful healing that you want to provide.</strong></div>
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We are on your side as you do the difficult work of offering hope and healing to survivors of trauma. </div>
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We offer you practical information about:</div>
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<li _mce_style="color: #006633;">Treatment</li>
<li _mce_style="color: #006633;">Program design</li>
<li _mce_style="color: #006633;">Team dynamics</li>
<li _mce_style="color: #006633;">The latest brain research and how to apply it</li>
<li _mce_style="color: #006633;">Vicarious traumatization</li>
<li _mce_style="color: #006633;">Vicarious transformation</li>
<li _mce_style="color: #006633;">More </li>
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Our mission is to translate current science and theory into practical tips that you can apply immediately in your job as a healer. </div>
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We are there with you, like an adviser sitting on your shoulder, giving you tools to deal with the complex problems you encounter every day. </div>
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You will learn practical techniques and know what to do next. Your team will receive tools and training materials to help you become a positive and effective team. We will share skills that are useful both professionally and personally. </div>
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Programs experience less turnover when workers feel competent, successful, and are an appreciated member of a cohesive team. We will help you get there!</div>
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<strong>Our website will contain free information and tools to help you. Our subscribers will receive additional resources. Soon we will also offer courses and membership options for agencies and individuals.</strong></div>
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<a href="http://partnerforhealing.org/" target="_blank"><span style="color: green;"><b>Partner for Healing</b></span> </a></div>
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<span _mce_style="font-size: 10pt;" style="font-size: 10pt;"><br /> I hope to see you there!</span></div>
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Patricia Wilcox, LCSWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07444420374748925069noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739721.post-31453280635755751542014-09-01T14:02:00.000-04:002014-09-01T14:37:50.582-04:00Aren't We Just Putting a Band-Aid on the Problem?On 3/31/13 I wrote a post "A Small Thought About Band Aids" (http://tinyurl.com/phgvsmv)<br />
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Now I have written a poem in response to the concern that certain interventions are "just putting a band aid on the problem".<br />
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Before I share the poem with you, I want to mention that we are VERY CLOSE to opening our new service. It is entitled "Partners for Healing" and will be your tool for more compassionate and effective healing.<br />
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After the poem I will give you an opportunity to sign up to learn more about your Partners for Healing, and receive a free infographic of the poem.<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Aren't We Just Putting a BandAid on
the Problem?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;">Let me be your band aid</span><span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;">Stretch over you</span><span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;">Protect you</span><span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;">Keep out the dirt and
germs</span><span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;">Strengthen you</span><span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;">Cushion you -
imperfectly-</span><span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;">From that jolt of
pain </span><span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;">When your wound hits the
world. </span><span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;">Let me cling to you</span><span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;">Faithfully</span><span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;">Enclosing you</span><span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;">As you heal.</span><span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;">As your skin knits
together.</span><span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;">As your pain subsides.</span><span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;">As you become
whole. </span><span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'd be very interested in your reactions to this poem. Click on "comment" below and tell me what you think.</span></div>
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<a href="https://my.leadpages.net/leadbox/146435a73f72a2%3A12832941ab46dc/5742796208078848/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #38761d;">Click here to receive your infographic of the poem.</span></a><script src="//my.leadpages.net/leadbox-764.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
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<br />Patricia Wilcox, LCSWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07444420374748925069noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739721.post-25902059695197485412014-08-03T11:34:00.001-04:002014-08-03T12:08:57.468-04:00Get Ready for an Entirely New ServiceWe at the Traumatic Stress Institute have been working hard for six months or so on an entirely new service to better support you, all our friends in trauma informed care. In order to do this right, I am learning all sorts of new web skills. I'm having a great time.<br />
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Just to make sure we respond to your most important needs, can you take this one question survey?<br />
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<a href="https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/NDP2QZ9" target="_blank">One Question Survey</a><br />
<br />
I've also created an infographic on beginning trauma informed care. Get your free copy here:<br />
<br />
<a href="https://my.leadpages.net/leadbox/142d6e873f72a2%3A12832941ab46dc/5705241014042624/" target="_blank">Click here to join our community and recieve a free infographic.</a><script src="//my.leadpages.net/leadbox-753.js" type="text/javascript"></script><br />
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And here is the link to a list for updates about our new service.<br />
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<a href="http://eepurl.com/0gS0T" target="_blank">Get updates on upcoming new service</a><br />
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Stay tuned- I think you are going to be delighted with this new product!<br />
<br />
<br />Patricia Wilcox, LCSWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07444420374748925069noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739721.post-39662276641770827022014-07-13T08:41:00.002-04:002014-07-13T08:41:42.670-04:00What Does a Trauma-Informed Culture Look Like?<div class="Body">
We just finished a Joint Commission survey. We did very well. One
of my best moments was when the surveyor remarked that this was a special
agency. A staff member asked him what he saw that made it special. He replied,
"many agencies teach their staff about trauma-informed care. In this
agency, that approach is deep in the culture."<o:p></o:p></div>
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So I have been thinking: what did the surveyor observe that
enabled him to know that? <o:p></o:p></div>
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He experienced:<o:p></o:p></div>
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The outpatient therapist talking about how the mother of her
client had suffered early trauma, and how this was complicating her response to
her daughter.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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An in depth discussion of a diabetic girls' eating a large muffin
snack at school, that included systems issues, peer issues, biological factors,
her loneliness and hopelessness, and the pediatrician's personal experience
with diabetes and eating muffins.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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A group home therapist who was worried that a client who was
" doing everything right" still wasn't letting any one get close to
her.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Leadership response to discovered problems that focused on
systems issues rather than scapegoating.<o:p></o:p></div>
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A discussion of whether a girl with a self- harm history should
be allowed to work with knives in the kitchen that reject the simplistic solution
of trying to keep her away from any sharp objects.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Group home staff sharing the pain of watching a girl make plans
to live with her father and being afraid he will disappoint her.<o:p></o:p></div>
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An in home service discussing their struggles to implement an
evidence based practice while maintaining the provision of concrete help they
know makes such a difference to families- even when getting new beds is nowhere
in the formula.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The longevity of staff at the agency.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The willingness of a program to take a kid back after a lengthy
hospitalization despite their doubts to save her from placement in a shelter.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Foster parents who readily related the behavior of their foster
son to his past experiences of being hurt.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The warmth and connection between staff, and staff with clients.<o:p></o:p></div>
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And there are probably many more things. I felt proud observing
all this. It was one of those times when I could appreciate all that we have
accomplished.<o:p></o:p></div>
Patricia Wilcox, LCSWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07444420374748925069noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739721.post-69732501468321627782014-06-15T08:23:00.000-04:002014-06-15T08:24:38.892-04:00My Head is Spinning!<h2 style="background: white;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf9wMIJHCBXwstDNhZnhQRimG4uuRz3bkEzeptckdVlTu6lAGBqF0CglwdXb3uNGyYB8vkXyhq8JE8BhKH6meKs6aKvYvtUBpH2QxlSHrYWeiOp5uuHIOSZ4WUHc6y_uKsG7qA/s1600/bessel1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf9wMIJHCBXwstDNhZnhQRimG4uuRz3bkEzeptckdVlTu6lAGBqF0CglwdXb3uNGyYB8vkXyhq8JE8BhKH6meKs6aKvYvtUBpH2QxlSHrYWeiOp5uuHIOSZ4WUHc6y_uKsG7qA/s1600/bessel1.jpg" height="200" width="140" /></a><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: normal; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">I have recently attended two high powered
conferences in a row. The first was Bessel van der Kolk’s 25th Annual
International Trauma Conference: PSYCHOLOGICAL TRAUMA: Neuroscience,
Attachment, and Therapeutic Interventions on May 28 - 31, 2014 in Boston. The theme
was <i>What We Have Discovered Over The Past Quarter Century About
Traumatic Stress and Its Treatment.</i></span></h2>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifYAMHGkTG8YU_u0ee3xVwGX_pj9_NJzTcm4Zlh-eApx6avbCAXyBrnsVs1V91s98NQpn5uxxPkNkLZKfYIKk-bYrY1kD0Z46eSMHoPjsZZYFhGZ15Ab8I82ktUmuyVgH66eKy/s1600/bruce-perry.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: transparent; clear: right; display: inline !important; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifYAMHGkTG8YU_u0ee3xVwGX_pj9_NJzTcm4Zlh-eApx6avbCAXyBrnsVs1V91s98NQpn5uxxPkNkLZKfYIKk-bYrY1kD0Z46eSMHoPjsZZYFhGZ15Ab8I82ktUmuyVgH66eKy/s1600/bruce-perry.jpg" height="150" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Then I presented at
Bruce Perry’s </span><span style="background: rgb(246, 246, 246); font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Neurosequential</span> Model of Treatment <b><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Inaugural
Symposium:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Brain Development
and Trauma: Implications for Interventions and Policy, </span><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">June 10 – 12, 2014 in Alberta, Canada at the
Banff Centre. What a lovely place!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">So my head
is spinning with new ideas and new takes on old ideas, which I will be sharing
with you in the upcoming weeks.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: #FCFCFC; line-height: 15.6pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">First let me
focus on a basic premise of the </span><span style="background: rgb(246, 246, 246); font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Neurosequential</span>
Model. We cannot think when we are dysregulated. We can think best when we are
in relationships to others. So, in every situation, for us and for our clients,
follow the sequence:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<h2>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background: rgb(246, 246, 246); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>Regulate</b></span></span></h2>
<h2>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background: rgb(246, 246, 246); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>Relate</b></span></span></h2>
<h2>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background: rgb(246, 246, 246); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>Reason</b></span></span></h2>
</div>
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<span style="background: rgb(246, 246, 246); font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">We can use
many methods to regulate ourselves and our clients. The best are “bottom up”;
that is, using the body and rhythmic, repetitive activities. This includes
rocking, walking, petting animals, doodling, jumping, music, throwing a ball
back and forth, etc. Regular small doses of such activity can keep us regulated
throughout the day and avert many crisises.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: #FCFCFC; line-height: 15.6pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="background: rgb(246, 246, 246); font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Once someone
is regulated, emphasize relationship. Connected people are at their best.
People who feel noticed, heard and safe can think creatively.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: #FCFCFC; line-height: 15.6pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="background: rgb(246, 246, 246); font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Then, and only
then, problem solve.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: rgb(246, 246, 246); font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">And as soon as
problem solving becomes stressful, return to regulation and repeat the sequence
again.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: rgb(246, 246, 246); font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">More to come….</span><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Patricia Wilcox, LCSWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07444420374748925069noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739721.post-91584370672414714692014-05-26T07:23:00.002-04:002014-05-26T07:23:43.972-04:00Five Benefits of Risking Connection© Training<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This week I taught a Risking Connection© Basic three-day
training for a Connecticut agency. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA7KMr7NAltO9mjJygD6xeYkajHJk94l_C2GK8kMuAZMWqncbQLgUyMBp8Oh2DqiPYsrf7vTgAVdus4ZK69JOaZZPUb6zxA0SK_WVO1armXFbVD3qdStrU7hkuioJqoGZS287g/s1600/RC+Logo2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA7KMr7NAltO9mjJygD6xeYkajHJk94l_C2GK8kMuAZMWqncbQLgUyMBp8Oh2DqiPYsrf7vTgAVdus4ZK69JOaZZPUb6zxA0SK_WVO1armXFbVD3qdStrU7hkuioJqoGZS287g/s1600/RC+Logo2.jpg" height="47" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This agency provides various types of
home-based services, school-based mental health clinics, out patient clinics,
parent resource centers, and day care. It was a joy to teach such caring and
thoughtful people. At the end of the training we did an exercise that involved
people saying what they would keep from the training. Here are the top five
things staff will keep:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<ol>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I learned tools that help me understand
my clients’ behaviors in a new way</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have new ideas for how to help
my clients more effectively.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I feel more connected to my agency
and the individuals within it.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I feel more valued by my agency.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I learned it is okay to be a human
being with human feelings, and how to take care of myself to remain energized
and hopeful.</span></li>
</ol>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It is always inspiring to participate in the increase of
hope and energy that this training creates.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
Patricia Wilcox, LCSWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07444420374748925069noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739721.post-48080061991678025602014-05-18T06:23:00.001-04:002014-05-18T06:23:10.827-04:00Participate in Improving our FieldMy colleagues and I are engaged in an effort to develop a reliable and validated measure of beliefs favorable to trauma-informed care. When complete, this measure will help establish the effects of training, will assist in agency self-assessment, may be used in hiring decisions, and could have many other uses. As part of the process we are asking many professionals in the field to take a longer version of the survey, which will help us determine which questions work best. Would you like to join us?<br />
<br />
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Dear Colleague,</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">At this time, there are no reliable and valid measures of trauma-informed care. For this reason, we are working on an instrument to measure staff beliefs related to TIC. When finished, this could be used to measure such things as the extent to which a school or agency is trauma-informed or the outcome of trauma-informed change interventions.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="x_MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">We need your help. We need as many health and education professionals as possible to participate in a brief online survey. The online survey takes 20-30 minutes and has been approved by the Tulane University Institutional Review Board. All participants who complete the online survey will have the option to enter their name into a raffle. After the study is over, four participants will be randomly selected to win a $25 giftcard to <a href="" name="x__GoBack"></a>Barnes & Noble.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="x_MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">If you are interested in participating, please click on the appropriate link below.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="x_MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><b>Please also distribute to other listservs or to health care and education providers in your agencies</b>. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="x_MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">I work in HEALTH CARE or HUMAN SERVICES: <a href="https://mail.klingberg.com/owa/redir.aspx?C=3bb8212bd9d3463dae46892dcd1074e8&URL=https%3a%2f%2fqtrial.qualtrics.com%2fSE%2f%3fSID%3dSV_9vGkmqaAckMxbiB" target="_blank">https://qtrial.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_9vGkmqaAckMxbiB</a></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">OR</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="x_MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">I work in EDUCATION: <a href="https://mail.klingberg.com/owa/redir.aspx?C=3bb8212bd9d3463dae46892dcd1074e8&URL=https%3a%2f%2fqtrial.qualtrics.com%2fSE%2f%3fSID%3dSV_6hAQFLH7cssAh9j" target="_blank">https://qtrial.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_6hAQFLH7cssAh9j</a></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Thanks in advance for your help.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Sincerely,</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><img alt="SteveB_Signature[1]" border="0" height="54" id="x_Picture_x0020_1" src="https://mail.klingberg.com/owa/attachment.ashx?id=RgAAAABKm0RjWePRSowBfkteEICKBwDcmDE9IwAuRYHHdjwmIYtzAAEEKELFAADuMx0RzFLSSJXMgNGY77npAAAArfmsAAAJ&attcnt=1&attid0=BAAAAAAA&attcid0=image001.jpg%4001CF589A.14D7F960" width="162" /></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="x_MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Steve Brown, Psy.D.</span></div>
<div class="x_MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Director, Traumatic Stress Institute</span></div>
<div class="x_MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Coordinator, Risking Connection Training Program</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><img alt="cid:image004.png@01CF57EB.BC0FB1F0" border="0" height="43" id="x_Picture_x0020_4" src="https://mail.klingberg.com/owa/attachment.ashx?id=RgAAAABKm0RjWePRSowBfkteEICKBwDcmDE9IwAuRYHHdjwmIYtzAAEEKELFAADuMx0RzFLSSJXMgNGY77npAAAArfmsAAAJ&attcnt=1&attid0=BAABAAAA&attcid0=image002.png%4001CF589A.14D7F960" width="179" /></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Courtney N. Baker, Ph.D.</span></div>
<div class="x_MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Research and Methodology Consultant, Risking Connection Training Program</span></div>
<div class="x_MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Assistant Professor</span></div>
<div class="x_MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Tulane University</span></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
Patricia Wilcox, LCSWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07444420374748925069noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739721.post-92012901016324387372014-05-11T18:08:00.002-04:002014-05-12T06:48:51.317-04:00How to Help Kids With Discharge<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1U9nF0Wr8QBXIC0ZIY7WcLX3rMvFpVDImjg2ql0ZWzxVpyGObrGpYlCPM9LB1-uoTp8XuHbVr9B-cQMMzbVT3ntqFQ0RDyo963fyl1IOK3j89RouDA96KrYXaWqBSWA5TNBav/s1600/Mom+hugging+teen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1U9nF0Wr8QBXIC0ZIY7WcLX3rMvFpVDImjg2ql0ZWzxVpyGObrGpYlCPM9LB1-uoTp8XuHbVr9B-cQMMzbVT3ntqFQ0RDyo963fyl1IOK3j89RouDA96KrYXaWqBSWA5TNBav/s1600/Mom+hugging+teen.jpg" height="147" width="200" /></a></div>
Jennifer's home passes have been going well. She and her mom Nancy have had some fun together. When disagreements have occurred they have worked them out. Jennifer has been going home for long weekends and even a week over school vacation. The team decided it is time to set a discharge date, and chose the end of the school year. Then Jenn blew up. On her next home pass she went out and didn't come back until late. Her mother was clear she had been drinking and smoking. When Nancy came to visit, Jenn told her she hated her and didn't ever want to go home. She said she wanted to go to independent living. As soon as Nancy left Jenn called her and begged her to come back and take her home immediately, and started swearing at her when she wouldn't.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Going Home is Hard</h3>
The ambivalence our kids feel about going home is agonizing and acute. What are some of the contributing factors? They all involve various sorts of fear.<br />
<ul>
<li>Fear that they will not be able to handle it, will hurt the people they love.</li>
<li>Fear that the people they love can't handle it and are happier without them.</li>
<li>Fear of reconnecting and being hurt again.</li>
<li>Fear of school, expecting shame and being an outcast.</li>
<li>Fear of not being able to do the academics.</li>
<li>Fear of the outside world, being unprotected, violence.</li>
<li>Fear of being unable to resist the temptations of peers and the world.</li>
<li>Fear that the people who hurt them are still around.</li>
</ul>
And we could go on. How can we best help our kids survive and accomplish a positive discharge?<br />
<br />
<h3>
Don't Do This</h3>
Here's what we shouldn't do:<br />
<ul>
<li>Tell them they have to decide</li>
<li>Persuade or pressure them to go to their family.</li>
<li>Threaten them.</li>
<li>Be upset that they are deteriorating.</li>
<li>Punish them.</li>
</ul>
What we should do, in a word, is explore. Help the child express all the complicated feelings they are having. Maintain a totally validating stance- after all, their mixed feelings are completely understandable and legitimate.<br />
<br />
<h3>
How We Can Help</h3>
How can we explore? It sometimes helps to talk about other kids or some kids- move it a few steps away from them. Here are some techniques:<br />
<ul>
<li>Divide a big flip chart size paper into quarters. Title one quarter "what some kids like about home"; another "what some kids find hard about home"; another "what some kids like about... (Whatever the alternative is)" and another "what some kids find hard about (alternative)". Generate as many ideas as possible.</li>
<li>Draw a picture of a road branching into several roads. Label them with the youth's possibilities. Have her draw whet she imagines on each road.</li>
<li>Tell her some things you have heard from other kids about what makes going home scary.</li>
<li>Try and get the world (state worker or whoever has this power) to be clear about what the steps are if she does not go home. Be realistic not threatening.</li>
<li>Remember she knows more about her home than you do and she may have some very good reasons to be concerned.</li>
<li>If possible help mom to talk with her about ambivalence and how to get through it.</li>
<li>Explore what she gets from her mom and what she doesn't. Normalize that no one has perfect parents. Talk about ways she can manage when mom drives her crazy, and where she could get whatever mom cannot give her.</li>
<li>Work on helping her become more comfortable where ever she would go to school. Can she start there while still living with you?</li>
</ul>
In other words don't judge, don't hurry, resist the pressures of the world to fix her ambivalence and decide. Explore. I swear that will be actually FASTER than trying to pressure her to decide.<br />
<br />
Continue as much contact as possible between her and her mother. As time goes on, this will resolve. Either she will get past her understandable terror, or she will let you know in words and actions that home is not possible at this time. If that is the outcome, try to preserve as much connection as possible between her and her mother and help them figure out how they can love each other even if they are not living together now.<br />
<br />
And you will have given this youth a priceless gift.Patricia Wilcox, LCSWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07444420374748925069noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739721.post-56006660609504228202014-05-04T08:35:00.003-04:002014-05-04T08:37:00.948-04:00ReMoved<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi81g4wdLhyphenhyphenOz_UBNvUdEF8zd9JEr3fx29TGxvvktExBccFE8wMrMxX2GSuRJgO0hFSSv1-W_YHiJEI1xqt9BVuPE6IT9WFahzAz-DkympHjgEWNDMLJtS48AjKlnXRVWocdoC0/s1600/ReMoved.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi81g4wdLhyphenhyphenOz_UBNvUdEF8zd9JEr3fx29TGxvvktExBccFE8wMrMxX2GSuRJgO0hFSSv1-W_YHiJEI1xqt9BVuPE6IT9WFahzAz-DkympHjgEWNDMLJtS48AjKlnXRVWocdoC0/s1600/ReMoved.jpg" height="198" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="Body">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<h3>
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Have you seen
the moving new video ReMoved yet? It is available at: </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;"><a href="http://fstoppers.com/removed-an-incredible-film-by-nathanael-matanick">http://fstoppers.com/removed-an-incredible-film-by-nathanael-matanick</a></span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">It
is about a young girl’s journey into and through foster care. It is $25 to
purchase for training use. I have now used it in quite a few training settings. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Here are some discussion questions I have used:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]-->1.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">When
Zoe was living with her family what was one of her sources of satisfaction?</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]-->2.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">What
did you notice during the scene when the police came?</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]-->3.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Why
did Zoe throw the record player over the fence?</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]-->4.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">What
do you notice about Zoe's feelings management skills: feelings management,
sense of worthiness, and inner connection?</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]-->5.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">What
happened when Zoe's foster mother gave her the dress?</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]-->6.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">What
did Zoe think when she saw her foster mother on the phone? What did you think?</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]-->7.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">What
did Zoe's foster mother give her that helped her heal?</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Let
me know what you think of it and how you use it by clicking on “comment” below.</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Patricia Wilcox, LCSWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07444420374748925069noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739721.post-57505290081433539962014-04-20T09:23:00.002-04:002014-04-20T15:27:37.551-04:00An Integrative Work-Life BalanceA very important part if the message that I teach is that working with trauma survivors is emotionally difficult, and that it is imperative that we take care of ourselves and each other. We are daily immersed in the pain of our client's lives. This includes sharing their past stories of abuse and neglect and their present experiences of rejection and inadequate resources. It includes being the recipients of the symptoms our clients have evolved to survive. It includes the anguish of caring for clients who connect and then leave. All these and many other experiences combine to create vicarious traumatization ( VT).<br />
<br />
We have written extensively about how agencies can imbed attention to VT into their practice. This is essential. Recently people in our field have been paying more attention to VT, or burn out, or compassion fatigue. I am worried about an approach in which an agency says: here is a large caseload, and you are expected to work extra hours, and you will be on call, and we can't give raises for years. But we care about you and know this work is hard- so please take care of yourself and get a massage. On your own time and with your own money, of course.<br />
Agencies must be responsive to the many ways in which they can help decrease VT in their employees. <br />
<br />
Today, however, I want to challenge another part of standard anti-VT wisdom. One piece of advice that we often include is: learn how to leave your work at work, don't bring your work home.<br />
<br />
However, this does not reflect the reality of any one that I know. Especially not anyone in a managerial position. These days our work and personal lives intertwine. We may be on call or provide back up in emergencies. We often work on projects at home. We can access our files and information from any where. We can always be reached. And our work interests us. Our minds are often engaged in solving a work problem, creating a new service, figuring out how to help a certain client more effectively.<br />
<br />
It is important that we acknowledge and grapple with this current reality, rather than pretend that there could or even should be a clear and simple dividing line between work and life. Let's try to figure out this more complex question: how do we honor and protect all parts of our selves within this system?<br />
<br />
The first step is to acknowledge the reality. Leaving work at work is not the goal for many of us. Then, consider your own unique self. What is energizing for you? How would you like this balance to be in your life? For some, it might be carving out certain time periods to step away from work. For others, it might be a mindfulness practice that increases one's skills at staying in the moment. Identify activities and connections that are essential to your own happiness and be watchful that these are not neglected. Maybe it includes thinking about what kind of work you do best at home, and scheduling time for that.<br />
<br />
It is also important yo look at the at-work part of the equation. If there are projects (for me it is concentrated writing) that are best done at home, can you stay home during the work day? Can you adopt a Seize-the-Moment philosophy and actually leave when there is nothing urgent pressing? Can you incorporate flexibility during work hours to accomplish home chores?<br />
<br />
Develop an awareness of what is creative thinking and what is obsessing. What are your techniques for ending obsessing, whether it be about work or home problems?<br />
<br />
And cultivate the opportunities for weaving the best of yourself and your greatest joy into both work and home. Do you love nature? Can you figure out a perplexing work problem while walking in the woods? Do you create music? How can you bring that into your work place? Did you learn a new skill at work? Would it help with your own kids? Does seeing the kids you treat heal inspire you? How can you utilize that inspiration in your own struggles?<br />
<br />
Let's continue this conversation about how we can stay sane, hopeful and energetic within our real work- life intertwining. Please share your thoughts by clicking "comment" below.Patricia Wilcox, LCSWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07444420374748925069noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739721.post-52966074573194155152014-04-06T18:30:00.001-04:002014-04-06T18:31:43.464-04:00Drive<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeoFxeSEvsbfkBTbXtAfGBq6vCo9CYO36WOdqrDAJEV3r_uPSSet4g1G_I-iApVs4meo29oZ03h5kTN1IYCdFXS-NRfXnlMBaAC8KCnA8sKKKpI1RpE2qM5a6G7Ack8gWNnJS0/s1600/Drive.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeoFxeSEvsbfkBTbXtAfGBq6vCo9CYO36WOdqrDAJEV3r_uPSSet4g1G_I-iApVs4meo29oZ03h5kTN1IYCdFXS-NRfXnlMBaAC8KCnA8sKKKpI1RpE2qM5a6G7Ack8gWNnJS0/s1600/Drive.jpg" height="200" width="131" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I have been reading Drive:
The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Daniel H. Pink (Riverhead
Books, New York, 201). It is very interesting and relevant to both staff and
clients.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">He starts be reviewing scientific
evidence which demonstrates that contingent rewards don’t work and in fact can
be dangerous. Pink summaries these findings in a chart “Carrots and Sticks: The
Seven Deadly Flaws” The flaws are:<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“They can extinguish
intrinsic motivation.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">They can diminish
performance.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">They can crush creativity</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">They can crowd out good
behavior.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">They can encourage
cheating, shortcuts and unethical behavior.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">They can become
addictive.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">They can foster
short-term thinking.”</span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Pink shows that rewards and punishments only
work when the behavior you are trying to increase is formulaic and repetitive,
involves no problem solving or creativity. I can’t think of anything that we
ask our staff or clients to do that fits that description.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">So what do we do instead
to improve performance? Pink describes that people respond to </span><span style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> autonomy, mastery, and
purpose</span>. <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">How can we increase those for both our clients and our staff?</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">If you would like to hear the master himself, check out this
TED talk:</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1VO3Q29_RBMuEYh7YFQR02MFkBYvSqYGQWdw94lC8QKLFp0kQEYqfDJSjKeeTLfViUTmQR-2S0fc5JqgujxSw3Y457kqpLVmpw9bzq0J2YpKxdpdtqtVUsT0iSunp93eKNkBK/s1600/danielpink2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1VO3Q29_RBMuEYh7YFQR02MFkBYvSqYGQWdw94lC8QKLFp0kQEYqfDJSjKeeTLfViUTmQR-2S0fc5JqgujxSw3Y457kqpLVmpw9bzq0J2YpKxdpdtqtVUsT0iSunp93eKNkBK/s1600/danielpink2.jpg" height="133" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.danpink.com/ac/ted-talk">http://www.danpink.com/ac/ted-talk</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Let
me know your thoughts.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Patricia Wilcox, LCSWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07444420374748925069noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739721.post-50215769007396310912014-03-30T08:58:00.002-04:002014-03-30T09:02:33.693-04:00Compassion-Informed Care<div class="MsoNormal">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One question I get asked a lot
when I teach about trauma-informed care is whether this method is appropriate
for clients who have not experienced trauma. One reaction I have it that it
would be difficult to find anyone, including us, who has not experienced
trauma. But putting that aside, I sometimes do regret the term trauma-informed
care. Isn't what we are advocating here just <b>good</b> care? Let’s look at the concepts. It is my opinion that they
apply to all effective treatment:</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 7pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">A belief that the relationship is the key to healing</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A conviction that symptoms are adaptive, so that
the treater approaches difficult behaviors with respect and looks for how the
behavior solves a problem for the client</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">An understanding of the role of the brain and
biology and the ways in which development is shaped by experience</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Empowerment and collaboration</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Flexibility and individualization</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A belief that change
will come with learning new skills</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Not relying on
punishment and reward as tools of change</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">An understanding that
the client is doing the best they can</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">An awareness of the
whole body and the importance of non verbal healing activities</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">An understanding that
the person will act better when they are safer, happier and more known</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A deep conviction that
the client’s behaviors make sense in view of their experience in the world</span></span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">So which clients would this
approach not be appropriate for? For that matter, wouldn’t it also be the best
approach to staff, friends, ourselves?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I wish I could replace the term </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">trauma-informed care</i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> with </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">compassion-informed care.</i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> After all,
compassion is also becoming a buzz word in our world. Would you like to join me
in promoting this change? Let’s all begin referring to what we aspire to do as </span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">compassion-informed care</b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />Let me know in comments what you
think of this idea.</span><br />
<br />
<br />Patricia Wilcox, LCSWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07444420374748925069noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739721.post-26516898792301562312014-03-16T07:09:00.001-04:002014-03-16T07:09:03.846-04:00Consultation and TrainingI am very excited about developing a new division of our training which will offer on line training and consultation. I want this new service to be exactly what you need. To make sure that I understand your struggles and triumphs exactly, would you be willing to take this on line survey? It is called The Joys and Challenges of your job and can be found at:<br />
<br />
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/J7W2CTS<br />
<br />
I would greatly appreciate it. It is short. It is in narrative rather than check boxes because I want to understand you with depth.<br />
<br />
I am currently considering a model such as described below. Would you please click on comments and tell me what you think of this- would it be valuable to you? Do you think that you or your agency would purchase it?<br />
<br />
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An individual or agency subscribes for a specified time period.</div>
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During this time, they receive a certain number of training
modules.</div>
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Each module consists of
a video, transcript, work sheet, and resources</div>
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They are able to
download these things and save them</div>
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Topics for modules
might include things like:</div>
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How do you know if
you are doing trauma informed care?</div>
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A checklist of
trauma informed practices</div>
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What can
administrators do to promote TIC</div>
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How to formulate
and plan treatment</div>
<div class="Body">
Maintaining a
trauma informed focus in times of stress</div>
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Responding to
behaviors that hurt others</div>
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During the time period the
subscriber has access to once-a week office hours where questions can be
discussed.</div>
<div class="Body">
Furthermore, the subscriber has access to email consultation
through which the consultant answers questions and provides additional
resources.</div>
<div class="Body">
For agency subscriptions there are additional
elements such as exercises to bring teams together, recognition of
accomplishments, notification to administrators when some one completes a
module, etc</div>
<div class="Body">
During this time the subscriber also can join a private FaceBook
group consisting of all the subscribers and thus belong to a larger community.
This group continues after the time period is over. There is additional less intensive contact and resources after
time period is over. </div>
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I am eager to hear your ideas to improve this concept. Thank you for taking the survey and responding to my ideas.</div>
<br />Patricia Wilcox, LCSWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07444420374748925069noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739721.post-2025727591408886852014-03-09T08:41:00.000-04:002014-03-09T08:41:15.520-04:00New Graduates<div class="MsoNormal">
I am teaching a course at the University of Connecticut
School of Social Work. I love it! About two thirds of the members of my class are
second year students about to enter the world of job interviewing and jobs. I
am interested in preparing them to interview better and enter their jobs with a
semi-coherent theoretical framework. In other words, I would like them to be
able to demonstrate that they have thought about their work! I often didn't
find that when I was interviewing candidates for therapist jobs. When asked
about their theoretical framework they all said they were eclectic. So I have
developed the following exercise for my students to do to prepare for this
question, and then plan to have them practice answering it.</div>
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<b>Developing a Theoretical Orientation Statement</b></div>
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Complete these statements:</div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]-->1.<span style="font-size: 7pt;"> </span><!--[endif]-->I
believe that people are…</div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]-->2.<span style="font-size: 7pt;"> </span><!--[endif]-->When
people experience difficulties it is usually because…</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->3.<span style="font-size: 7pt;"> </span><!--[endif]-->My
reading/studying learning of…<br />
has helped me to understand the following about the origins and meaning of
problem behaviors:</div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]-->4.<span style="font-size: 7pt;"> </span><!--[endif]-->My
reading/studying learning of…<br />
has helped me to understand the following about how to help people change</div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]-->5.<span style="font-size: 7pt;"> </span><!--[endif]-->I
believe that the most powerful methods to help people change are:</div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]-->6.<span style="font-size: 7pt;"> </span><!--[endif]-->When
doing this work, the helper must:</div>
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Compose your answers into a short, coherent statement that
summarizes what you believe and know.</div>
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What has been your experience with interviewing new
graduates? What do you wish they knew or were able to articulate?</div>
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You can be sure that the graduates from my class know a lot
about trauma, how it affects people, how people can heal, and how the treater needs
to care for her or himself to remain alive and hopeful in this work!</div>
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Click on comments and let me know your experiences.<br />
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Patricia Wilcox, LCSWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07444420374748925069noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739721.post-79510858647907353552014-03-02T14:34:00.001-05:002014-03-02T14:47:15.914-05:00Decreasing Scary Behaviors<b>Scary days at the Group Home</b><br />
It is a difficult time in the group home. Sally, a new admission, has been terrorizing the place. She very skillfully causes commotion with all the other girls, making them mad at each other and at her. When they become angry, Sally is astonished and begins to escalate. In her agitation she has left the house in her nightgown and stood in the middle of a busy road, has punched a hole in the wall, hit her favorite staff Tina, cut herself and threatened suicide. The police have already been called three times and she has had one visit to the ER and she has been at the group home less than a month! The other girls are starting to deteriorate, and two of them ran away for a few hours the other night. The staff are very upset. They have begun complaining to each other that the therapist Melissa doesn't seem to know how to handle Sally. Some staff feel the director is being too indulgent with Sally. They say we should impose stricter rules and have stronger consequences for what she does. There is discussion that this is not the right level of care for Sally and the group home should return her to the hospital that she came from.<br />
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Sound familiar? What would you and your team do?<br />
<br />
<b>Why is Sally acting like this?</b><br />
Is it because she is unclear about the Group Home expectations? Because she does not know that these kind of behaviors will get her in trouble? Because she does not care about other people? Because she is borderline, manipulative, or bipolar? Because she wants attention?<br />
<br />
Sally is acting this way because she is terrified.<br />
<br />
She has just moved into this home from a hospital. In many ways she feels more vulnerable. She is right in the town, no campus, no security guards, no gates. She had little control of which group home she moved to, or when, and feels that others are making all the decisions for her. In the past, when adults have made decisions it has not turned out well.<br />
<br />
The home reminds her of other homes she has known- both in good and bad ways. She feels much more exposed. She doesn't know these people. She is expected to be more intimate with them than she ever was at the hospital. There is no place to hide. She assumes the girls will hate her and the staff will abuse her and leave her.<br />
<br />
When Sally becomes scared, she becomes terrified. She has no one she trusts, so she cannot share her fears with any one. Her already agitated body becomes extremely tense and reactive. She cannot call on any memories of good experiences with relationships to smooth herself. Sally is so sure that she is a horrible person that she knows these new people will not like her and will hurt her. The best defense is a good offense. And Sally does not even recognize what she is feeling, she has no name for it. She does not realize that it is normal to be scared when you move into a new place. She has no ability to calm herself down or use strategies to get through this hard beginning part.<br />
<br />
Sally has few skills. She does not know how to make friends. She does not know what to do when her body becomes agitated. She cannot catch herself when she first becomes upset, and she winds up tighter and tighter until she explodes.<br />
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When Sally feels hopeless, terrified and overwhelmed she does the best she can to escape these feelings. All the behaviors she displays immediately bring in extra resources and make the situation better. Sally has no idea of any other way to accomplish any relief.<br />
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<b>Will consequences and rewards help Sally?</b><br />
Punishments and rewards effect motivation. Sally wants to to do better. She wants to succeed here and get her own apartment, graduate from college and become a nurse. She just does not know how.<br />
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When Sally is emotionally dysregulated, the strength of punishments or rewards is minuscule compared with the mounting pressure of despair and hopelessness. They have no power to influence her behavior.<br />
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Punishments and rewards can actually make things worse, by increasing Sally's already strong sense of shame and unworthiness.<br />
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If we truly believe that Sally is doing the best she can, why would we punish her?<br />
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<b>What will help Sally?</b><br />
Sally will act better when she feels safer, more noticed and loved, more in control, and when she learns some skills. She will act better when she is happier.<br />
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So we can:<br />
Normalize how hard it is to move to a new place<br />
Help her test the safety and security of the Group Home, put her in charge of the locks.<br />
Get to know her.<br />
Do fun things together.<br />
Help her gain control of anything in her life that she can.<br />
Teach her feelings management skills and social skills.<br />
Facilitate relationships with the other girls.<br />
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But you say, those are the kind of things we always do. They aren't working fast enough.<br />
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These interventions are the fastest and most effective ones there are. Sally won't change quickly. There are no shortcuts.<br />
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<b>What can we as a team do to be able to offer the most healing treatment?</b><br />
Talk to each other. Acknowledge how hard this is. Recognize small progress and special efforts. Plan fun activities together. Talk about vicarious traumatization. Make jokes. Remember other kids who came in snarling and got better. Pay attention when someone gets hurt or has a rough night. Be good to each other. Talk openly about rifts and disagreements that develop. Remind ourselves of Sally's history, and of how hard it has been when we ourselves have tried to change. Have a retreat. Don't work too many hours. Have regular supervision. Take a vacation. Dance together. Have fun with the kids.<br />
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<b>There is no magic answer- but there is the possibility of healing</b><br />
We do not have a system which will immediately result in Sally giving up the strategies that have allowed her to survive her difficult life. However, we have the immense power of love. And again and again we are privileged to create miracles of healing with the young people we serve.<br />
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Patricia Wilcox, LCSWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07444420374748925069noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739721.post-87025127295288470752014-02-23T15:47:00.002-05:002014-02-23T15:48:12.092-05:00A New VentureI am about to start an exciting new venture- plunging into social media. I am taking a couple of courses to help me develop an on-line branch of my consulting business. I envision creating more on-line learning and consulting options. My particular passion is the day-to-day operations in our treatment programs. How can we assure that every moment is as healing as possible? How can we maximize the ability of every treater, whatever their job role, to create a new relationship template in the brains of our trauma survivors? I have experienced how hard our work is and how we constantly operate at the edge of disaster. We don't have enough resources and we manage severe and scary behaviors. We have regulations, scrutiny and extensive reporting requirements. And, we have wonderful, caring skillful staff and a deep commitment to our important mission. The clients we serve have been hurt, not through their own fault. Given these realities, how can we make sure that we deliver effective, powerful treatment? And how can we improve the experiences of our employees so they stay energized and hopeful in the work?<br />
<br />
I have been devoted to these goals through my training, teaching, presenting, consulting, this blog and my book. Now I would like to extend my reach through cyberspace. Would you like to be part of this? I would love to develop an advisory group to help me figure out I can be of most use. If you are interested let me know by clicking "comment" below.<br />
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Meanwhile, wish me well and you will be hearing more in the future.Patricia Wilcox, LCSWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07444420374748925069noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739721.post-46157001970886208312014-02-16T07:02:00.002-05:002014-02-16T07:05:46.069-05:00Signs that Trauma Informed Care is Eroding- and What to Do about It<div class="MsoNormal">
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<span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">This post is part of my new focus on how to sustain trauma
informed care. It describes indicators that a trauma informed approach to
treatment may be eroding in a team, factors that may be contributing to that
erosion, and actions to take to restore compassionate and effective treatment.<br />
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Signs that trauma informed care is eroding:
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<span style="font-family: Symbol; text-indent: -0.25in;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;">Grounding
are more frequent and longer</span><br />
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</span></span><span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;">Restorative
tasks begin to look like punishments</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Symbol; text-indent: -0.25in;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;">People
start talking about clients “getting away with” things</span><br />
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</span></span><span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;">Behaviors
are described as deliberate and attempts to get at staff</span><br />
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</span></span><span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;">Team
members are not trying to understand behavior or figure out how it is adaptive
for the client. Instead they focus on how to change it.</span><span class="apple-converted-space" style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Symbol; text-indent: -0.25in;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;">Divisions
start between team members, there is more blaming of each other</span><br />
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</span></span><span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;">Team
members start asking for more rules to govern their interactions</span><br />
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</span></span><span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;">Staff stay
in offices and interact less with clients</span><br />
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</span></span><span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;">The
words “consistency” and “structure” are used more than usual</span><br />
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</span></span><span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;">Activities
begin to have to be earned, and clients are not allowed to attend fun events or
arts or recreation activities due to recent problem behaviors</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Symbol; text-indent: -0.25in;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;">Clients
are described in pejorative terms such as “manipulative” and “borderline</span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">”</span><br />
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</span></span><span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;">People
say things like "she wants to be that way"</span><br />
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</span></span><span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;">People
make hopeless and cynical statements</span><br />
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</span></span><span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;">Less
laughter and fun</span><br />
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</span></span><span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;">People
are talking about returning to points and levels or adding more severe
consequences</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">What to look for as contributing factors</span>:</div>
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<span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;">·</span><span style="font-size: 7pt; text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;">Client
turnover</span><br />
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</span></span><span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;">Staff
vacancies and over work of remaining staff</span><br />
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</span></span><span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;">A new,
more severe type of client</span><br />
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</span></span><span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;">Administration
being less available</span><br />
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</span></span><span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;">Any
particular staff having severe problems</span><br />
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</span></span><span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;">Personal
issues and losses</span><br />
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</span></span><span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;">New
reporting or oversight demands</span><br />
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</span></span><span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;">Difficult
incidents and/or bad discharges</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">What to do</span>:</div>
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</span></span><span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;">Talk
about it</span><br />
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</span></span><span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;">Acknowledge
changes and stressors</span><br />
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</span></span><span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;">Make a
plan to solve particular issues ( I.e. Hiring) with deadlines and responsible
people and stick to it</span><br />
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</span></span><span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;">Discuss
vicarious traumatization (VT), do VT exercises, acknowledge difficulty of work</span><br />
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</span></span><span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;">Provide
opportunities to reflect on successes</span><br />
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</span></span><span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;">Arrange
team building retreats and fun events</span><br />
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</span></span><span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;">Increase
staff recognition</span><br />
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</span></span><span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;">Emphasize
the mission and the importance of the work</span><br />
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</span></span><span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;">Increase
administrative presence</span><br />
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</span></span><span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;">Remember
past successful clients, and how they started</span><br />
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</span></span><span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;">Do not
get sucked into making more rules for clients or staff- look beneath to the
meaning</span><span style="font-size: 7pt; text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; text-indent: -0.25in;">Let me know your thoughts- have you had any experiences with
observing the erosion of trauma-informed thinking in your teams? What has been
helpful?</span><br />
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Patricia Wilcox, LCSWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07444420374748925069noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739721.post-39647082966299907552014-01-27T12:19:00.002-05:002014-01-27T12:19:44.193-05:00American Health Care Paradox<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPxe6G4oNoQ1OHtqraxL3ZpBEOCKErhd6N1lnj0ZtAFiayvZoWmA5mVFv2dREmnVhX0qG_klqKQLScjIFKrvYB06JHFrPqC4ygXT22PncP_RI9VuoXfd0THKKXz7mIkWIAvDkm/s1600/Elizabeth+Bradley+Lauren+Taylor.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPxe6G4oNoQ1OHtqraxL3ZpBEOCKErhd6N1lnj0ZtAFiayvZoWmA5mVFv2dREmnVhX0qG_klqKQLScjIFKrvYB06JHFrPqC4ygXT22PncP_RI9VuoXfd0THKKXz7mIkWIAvDkm/s1600/Elizabeth+Bradley+Lauren+Taylor.jpg" height="182" width="200" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">I
attended an interesting seminar on Friday. It was entitled </span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Mobilizing a Multi-sector Approach
to a Healthier America: Resolving the “spend more/achieve less” paradox. It was
sponsored by the Connecticut Council for Philanthropy, </span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">the<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> Donaghue
Foundation</span> and the <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Connecticut
Association of Nonprofits.</span> The main speakers were <b>Dr. Elizabeth
Bradley</b>, professor of public health at Yale, faculty director of its Global
Health Leadership Institute and author, will share comments about the complicated
question "why is our society less healthy than other industrialized
countries when the U.S. spends so much more on health care? and co-author, <a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_GoBack"></a><b>Lauren Taylor, MPH</b>., Dr. Bradley offered
insights from extensive research and discussed how our current health care
system provides limited outcomes while expending excessive resources. They are
the authors of a new book "</span><a href="https://mail.klingberg.com/owa/redir.aspx?C=4f7cc6fe18d94b9e94328e93e7acb702&URL=http%3a%2f%2fr20.rs6.net%2ftn.jsp%3ff%3d001Gt_mvUzSbi2RAmk1V-R-v6hd7bTB-LtdCylgIT3RDvAQrQfpKOIy3li_3ECNfH_RR_epbYRhXN67FpQjsuYy-ikYDbHbs1Q2dzHzA2skd0-zwWgafwsCZNAhuVRLKbuNjvNkCs6EhnN0IjsGm2-CH3NY5xtgn336_AnPI5pLUkC5mP6ExmAVqcb6VTKO5iyIFXOuIIzC4UtP0mbHEXm9WfoLgCqEqApigAzeufsdJeiLI7FR285_0YBxPOgmzFw_MOjaYskgT_GDPns8fH3kUiPQp8VcTRoYcWHvEdo7D5e4r11JuVZx4S55pbwqrPSidBQJBUkkMy4Bau8wWLIlk06UBXu4_4kKy4yVMkOdT8w%3d%26c%3dgr1G6Bx-KdPmu2mfybcDwQcJpV9mcAGH7jubKjYazKbYoj1myRRzBQ%3d%3d%26ch%3dcGmxxEv7cHeWTadqj_LGn5j5IQrzR690Hc7x6xPuQ3jOs6gFEDgd1Q%3d%3d" target="_blank"><i><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The American Health
Care Paradox</span></i></a><i><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">.</span></i><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">"</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The authors began by showing us that
the US spends more per capita in health care costs than any other member of the
Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (a group of 34 industrialized
countries), and achieves dismal outcomes. They shared statistics which
demonstrated that America ranks very low among the 34 industrialized countries,
ranking 25<sup>th</sup> in maternal mortality, 26<sup>th</sup> in life
expectancy, 28<sup>th</sup> in low birth weight, and 31<sup>st</sup> in infant
mortality, for example.</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">However, the picture becomes more interesting when you add
the spending that these countries do per capita on social support. That
includes such things as food stamps, housing help, early infant care, every
other type of social welfare. When the two types of spending are added together,
the US spends an average amount, in the middle of the per capita spending. The
US spends a very large percentage of the total on health care, where as other
countries spend a larger percentage of the total on social support. In the US,
for $1 spent on health care, about $0.55 is spent on social services. In the OECD
on average, for $1 spent on health care, about $2.00 is spent on social
services. In other words, we spend more of our social help dollar on healing
illness; other countries spend more on supporting better living conditions for
the population. The authors did extensive analysis that proved that with or
without including the US in the mix, the higher the percentage spent on social
support, the better the health outcomes.</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In other words- when you spend more of your total health and
quality of life dollar on social services, you get better outcomes.</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The authors described an interesting difference in values
that contributes to the decision making around allocation of money. One area of
difference that stood out to me was our sense of who social supports are for.
We would all agree in America that we all use health care. But in America we
think that social supports are for the “other”: the poor, the minority, those
who are different from us. In other countries, such as the Scandinavian
countries, supports are considered to be necessary for all. In America, if you
have a baby, you get an in home visitor if you meet certain risk criteria. In European
countries, every new mother with a baby gets in home visitation.</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Bradley and Taylor described some programs which have
combined social service and medical spending to achieve notably good results
(let me know if you want the citations). They and other speakers promoted that
the Affordable Health Care Act offered opportunities for such programs.</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I felt that their argument is greatly bolstered by the ACEs
study. The ACEs study is proof that social conditions leading to child abuse
and maltreatment cost our society many millions in health care costs. Once
again, our money would be spent more effectively by addressing social stressors
which lead to child abuse and maltreatment than it is presently by treating the
resultant severe medical disorders.</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I won a copy of the book so I will post again after I read
it. Please click on comment to share your thoughts on this important topic.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Patricia Wilcox, LCSWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07444420374748925069noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739721.post-52773407716065204612014-01-19T10:07:00.001-05:002014-01-19T10:07:48.888-05:00To the End of June<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Happy New Year!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">I would like to start the year by recommending a book: To
the End of June by Cris Beam (<span style="background: white; color: #333333;">Houghton
Mifflin Harcourt 2013)</span>. This is a book about the foster care system,
told both through carefully researched facts and information and through the
stories of the children and families who make up the system. Amazon describes
it as: “Who are the children of foster care? What, as a country, do we owe
them? Cris Beam, a foster mother herself, spent five years immersed in the
world of foster care, looking into these questions and tracing firsthand
stories. The result is<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><i>To the End of June</i>,
an unforgettable portrait that takes us deep inside the lives of foster
children at the critical points in their search for a stable, loving family.
<span style="background: white; color: #333333;">Focusing intensely on a few foster
families who are deeply invested in the system’s success, To the End of June is
essential for humanizing and challenging a broken system, while at the same
time it is a tribute to resiliency and offers hope for real change.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #333333; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It is hard to use ones’
free time to read a book about work that is this intense. However, this book
demonstrates in a deep way how the behavior of our kids makes complete sense
given their experience. And it also shows how the trauma histories of the birth
parents results in the children entering foster care. The deep tie between
parents and children, no matter how much pain and disappointment there has been,
is explored.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #333333; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The book shows clearly how
every child needs a permanent connection, no matter how old they are. One story
focuses on a family who adopts older, aging out youth, and provides them with
the support they need for the transition to adulthood.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #333333; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Another aspect that
becomes clear is how ultra-sensitive our kids are to even the faintest whiff of
potential rejection, and how they immediately withdraw and reject the parent as
soon as they conclude that rejection is coming. Rejection feels like the most
likely outcome to them, and they don’t want to stick around to experience it.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #333333; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The book also contains a
lot of information that would be helpful in funding applications, as it clearly
documents the connection between failed foster care and other expensive societal
problems such as homelessness and crime.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #333333; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I highly recommend this
book.</span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Patricia Wilcox, LCSWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07444420374748925069noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739721.post-35822074992472759142013-12-24T10:57:00.001-05:002013-12-25T08:26:39.827-05:00Proud and PlanningBy some sort of magical example of things coming together, this end of the year blog post is also my three hundredth post on this blog. Pretty amazing! What a journey! So, what better time to reflect on what I am proud of and what I am planning.<br />
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All the things that I am proud of are accomplishments of the entire Traumatic Stress Institute team, which consists of me, Steve Brown, Michelle Kenefick and Marci Marciniek. They also reflect the support of the Klingberg agency, particularly of the CEO Steve Girelli and the Executive Team, Dave Tompkins, Joe Milke, Mark Johnson and Eileen King. Many other Klingberg staff have contributed, notably Rebecca Desautels and Christine Keys.<br />
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Personally I continue to be proud of my book, Trauma Informed Care: The Restorative Approach (ww.nearipress.org). It was wonderful to attend a conference in Florida a couple of weeks ago and hear from so many people I didn’t previously know how much they liked the book and how it was transforming their treatment programs. It is very exciting to me that I am helping treaters offer more effective healing.<br />
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I did a lot of traveling and teaching this fall. It was tiring, but I was privileged to meet many caring and thoughtful people who are working hard to help trauma survivors heal. I am proud of the positive feedback I got, and of comments such as the foster mother who told me that my keynote helped her feel more hope for her relationship with her teenaged foster daughter.<br />
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Speaking of foster parents, one of our greatest achievements has been the adaptation of Risking Connection for training caretaking families. This was accomplished with the help of Elizabeth Power. We offered this training at Klingberg in our Therapeutic Foster Care Program, and one foster mother said she was delighted to see the "lightbulbs going off" above her husband's head. She felt their parenting would be more in sync after the training. Our trainers felt the foster parents were so grateful to be able to understand their children's behavior in a new way and have a road map for how to parent.<br />
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Another adaptation that I am proud of is Risking Connection with Native Hawaiian Values, done in conjunction with Joey McKeague of Child and Family Service. RC already fit well with the Native values of healing through relationships and Ho‘oponopono: the traditional ways of healing to make things right. So it was delightful to add Hawaiian sayings, concepts, pictures, music and exercises to adapt the training further. Not only is this training receiving great feedback in Hawaii, the curriculum is serving as a model for a First Nation adaptation in Canada.<br />
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One of my greatest areas of pride is the support and professional development that the Traumatic Stress Institute offers our Associate Trainers. Through local events and webinars we bring to our trainers the latest developments in trauma theory, treatment techniques, and teaching skills. These events contain great depth of thought and emotion. The credit for this program goes to Steve Brown, who planned and executed it. This year we offered such topics as treating self harm, preventing staff sexual abuse of clients, and using supervision to sustain trauma informed care. We also require Recertification every two years, during which we also bring new ideas and skills to our trainers. Many of our Associate Trainers are supervisors and leaders in their agencies, and so through our professional development we improve the quality of treatment throughout the country.<br />
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We added a new type of offering for our trainers this year- a Mindfulness Retreat. This was led by our Michelle Keneflick. It took place at a lovely location beside the ocean, and included meditation, walking a labyrinth, a silent meal, and sharing. The trainers (who as mentioned are leaders and spend a lot of time caring for their staff and clients) spoke eloquently of how much they needed this day for themselves. They learned techniques they could use with others, but more importantly were restored and renewed themselves.<br />
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Another new offering for our trainers is our list serve group, which is housed at www.acestoohigh.org. This has just begun, again as a result of effort by Michelle and Steve Brown. Our hopes are that it will evolve into a vehicle for creating a greater sense of community between our trainers. Through this mechanism they will be able to earn from each others' discoveries in both training and treatment methods. It also connects them with a larger community of people who are working to decrease the adverse childhood experiences for our children.<br />
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<span style="text-align: center;">We have made some progress in research. We are completing a study in the Yukon Territory of Canada which investigates the effect of Risking Connection training on a treatment system. We are also in the midst of refining and improving our Trauma Informed Belief Measure, which measures changes in beliefs favorable to trauma informed treatment. This will be a big contribution to the field, as it is currently difficult to measure changes that take place as agencies transform their practice. Steve Brown's persistence has made this possible, and our wonderful researcher Courtney Baker of Tulane University has directed the work.</span><br />
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Of course we have also continued our training, offering Risking Connections basic and train-the-trainer as well as the Restorative Approach throughout the year. We continue to receive feedback that this is the best training that people have ever had, that it changes their life. I am gratified when I return to a place I trained several years earlier and discover how much has changed due to the new perspective. For example, in Hawaii the group homes we trained had reduced both run aways and restraints to nearly zero, when these had both been major concerns prior to the training. We have also offered trainings about vicarious trauma.<br />
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As many of you know, my colleague Steve Brown is an expert in teaching healthy sexuality as well as treating problem sexual behaviors. He has combined this knowledge with his expertise in trauma to facilitate connections between different helping worlds. For example, he spoke at a conference about promoting healthy sexuality in the domestic violence world, and then recently about trauma informed healthy sexuality education. Often these various helping segments do not communicate with each other. Steve is helping bridge this gap. He continues to consult in difficult treatment cases involving problem sexual behaviors, and has helped treatment teams find direction with these youth. He also continues to teach Streetwise to Sexwise, based on his book which is a curriculum for teaching healthy sexuality to high risk kids.<br />
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Of course as I have recorded here before I am intensely proud of being part of the Ana Grace Project and having been part of planning the Love Wins conference. Pictures of the conference are available at www.anagraceproject.org. It was everything we hoped it would be- educational, inspiring, community building.<br />
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And there is more I'm sure that I am leaving out....<br />
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So what next?<br />
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I am interested in the topic of sustaining trauma informed care. More and more treaters are going to training and making some changes... but it is amazing how quickly those changes can evaporate in the faces of the challenges of our work. So expect more writing, training, help in the area of how to sustain this approach.<br />
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A focus on combating vicarious traumatization is an essential part of sustaining trauma informed care. We hope to offer more retreats and regeneration experiences, using art, music, mindfulness, yoga, etc. We'd like to be able to offer these to teams at agencies. Would that interest you? Cultivating vicarious transformation is another interest of mine.<br />
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I want to develop a train-the-trainer structure for the Restorative Approach, and train some trainers besides myself. Another part of sustainability.<br />
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We would like to expand our use of social media, offer more in the cyber world. Developing our trainer community is one part of that. Webinars for the treatment public are another possibility.<br />
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We hope to finish our research, and publish and disseminate our Belief's Measure.<br />
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It would be interesting to expand the trauma/healthy sexuality connection, there seem to be many possibilities. Steve will be working on a revision and updating of his book.<br />
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We are working on some new, soon-to-be-revealed projects in the areas of evaluation and prevention. As I mentioned we are also hoping to do an RC adaptation for First Nation people in Canada.<br />
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How about you- what do you need? What could we do that would be most helpful to you?<br />
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I am confident that in 2014 we will continue to assist the treaters in our field offer more effective and compassionate healing to the people who need it most, and to take the best possible care of themselves and each other. And I will chronicle the journey in the next hundred blog posts.<br />
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Please let us know what you need by clicking on "comment" below.<br />
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<br />Patricia Wilcox, LCSWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07444420374748925069noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739721.post-67728452683692853622013-12-15T08:33:00.001-05:002013-12-15T08:33:28.271-05:00Sandy Hook AnniversaryOn the weekend of the one year anniversary of the shootings at Sandy Hook, I urge you to listen to this inspiring and moving interview with my friend Nelba Marquez Green on NPR:<br />
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<a href="http://www.npr.org/2013/12/14/250786728/a-grieving-newtown-mothers-motto-love-wins?utm_medium=Email&utm_source=share&utm_campaign=" target="_blank">Nelba's NPR interview</a><br />
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Let me know your reactions by clicking on comment below.Patricia Wilcox, LCSWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07444420374748925069noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739721.post-19249080755319556272013-12-08T15:19:00.001-05:002013-12-09T09:03:39.659-05:00Resources for Trauma Informed CareThis past week I attended a conference held by the National Association of Children's Behavioral Health. The conference was entitled tools for Implementing and Sustaining Trauma Informed Care the faculty were from the National child Traumatic Stress Network:<br />
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Jane Halladay Goldman, PhD. Director of Service Systems, NCTSN<br />
Lisa Conradi, PsyD. Clinical Psychologist Chadwick Center for Children and Families, San Diego<br />
Pam Toohey, founder, Birth Parent Association, San Diego<br />
Erika Tullberg, MPA, MPH Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, NYU School of Medicine<br />
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I want to make sure that you all realize the great wealth of information and resources that is available on the NCTSN website, www.nctsn.org.<br />
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Here are some examples:<br />
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<b>Child Welfare Trauma Training Toolkit</b> Curriculum for child welfare workers<br />
<b>Cops, Kids and Domestic Violence </b>Training video for police officers<br />
<b>Caring for Children who Have Experienced Trauma-</b> a Curriculum for Resource Parents<br />
<b>Psychological First Aid </b>a print and on line evidence informed approach to enable first responders to meet the immediate needs and concerns of disaster survivors<br />
<b>Child Trauma Tool kit for Educator</b>s Guide for school administrators, teachers, staff and parents wih basic information for working with traumatize children in the school setting<br />
<b>Ten Things Every Juvenile Court Judge Should Know About Trauma and Delinquen</b>cy technical assistance bulletin highlighting crucial facts judges should know to meet the needs of traumatized children within the court system<br />
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<b>Master Speakers Series</b>, with free CEUS, on such topics as:<br />
Creating Trauma-informed Service Systems, with speakers including Alice Lieberman, Steve Marans, and Glenn Saxe.<br />
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Secondary Traumatic Stress with subjects including Organizational Secondary Traumatic Stress, Disaster and Terrorism Settings, Cultural Implications and is available in Spanish.<br />
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Family Systems, with speakers including Charles Figley, Joseph Spinazzola, and subjects such as evaluating and including families.<br />
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Screening and Assessment in the Juvenile Justice System and Screening and Assessment in the Child Welfare Setting, with information about measures to use, how to use measures to guide planning, how to assess child-parent dryads, perspectives from the bench, and using web based screening.<br />
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Partnering with Youth and Families in Trauma Settings, which covers engagement, boards, peer-to-peer programs, compensation and capacity building.<br />
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There is an excellent series of <b>information papers</b> on birth parents with trauma histories in the child welfare system. There are papers designed for birth parents, judges, child welfare workers, resource parents, child advocate and mental health professionals.<br />
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Then of course there are databases of both measures and evidence based treatments, with facts about each including relevant cultural variables.<br />
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NCTSN has created <b>Practice Breakthrough Collaboratives</b> on various topics. In these groups of stakeholders work together to create change in various areas of practice. The results of these are available on subjects such as "Using Trauma-Informed Child Welfare Practice to Improve Placement Stability". These contain many specific recommendations.<br />
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Everything on the NCTSN website is free, or, since it is funded by SAMHSA you might say you have already paid for it. I urge you to explore this valuable resource. There is even more there than I have described.Patricia Wilcox, LCSWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07444420374748925069noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739721.post-27178939835069122082013-12-01T19:03:00.001-05:002013-12-01T19:03:13.868-05:00Professional ThanksgivingI have so much to be thankful for in my professional life. I think first of all the relationships I have developed all over the country, in Canada and Australia. I have come to know so manny good people trying to improve treatment throughout our system. I have learned about many cultures, from Hawaiian to North Dakotan to First Nation. I have enjoyed seeing the sights and the art.<br />
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And so many people have been kind and helpful and encouraging towards me!<br />
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I am immensely thankful for the people at Klingberg. My boss Steve Girelli is a constant source of intelligence, support, good ideas and kindness. My co workers Steve Brown, Marci Marciniek and Michelle Kenefick offer excellence in so many ways: creativity, hard work, attention to detail, skills and knowledge, and great relationships with our customers. Also at Klingberg Dave Tompkins is a constant reliable support, and others like Rebecca, Christine, Joe, Eileen, Mark, Sue make my job much more pleasant and interesting.<br />
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My professional life is greatly enhanced by my husband Roger Nielson, who is my advisor and marketing director. And my friends also support me.<br />
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I am most thankful for the whole phenomena of trauma informed care. We are coming to trust our clients and realize that in behavior and words they are communicating the absolute truth. We are experiencing that change happens with safety and kindness, with collaboration and respect, not through coercion. We are actually beginning to realize that our clients will act better when they are happier. Words are not always the answer. Our most important task is to give our clients the experience of connection with good, kind, trustworthy people.<br />
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I am thankful for the clients I have known who have inspired me and honored me with their truths. It is for them that I work so hard to change our treatment approach.<br />
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Does this sound like an Academy Award acceptance speech? I am so lucky professionally and wanted to take this Thanksgiving weekend to acknowledge my gratitude.<br />
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Patricia Wilcox, LCSWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07444420374748925069noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739721.post-20189957548607450682013-11-24T08:09:00.001-05:002013-11-26T12:10:34.792-05:00The Miracle of Love Wins<br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Today I can only write about what has been occupying my time and
my heart for the last few weeks- the miracle of our Love Wins Conference.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">It is a week before the event even takes place, and already so
many incredible things have taken place. In no particular order, they include:</span><o:p><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"> </span></o:p><br />
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</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">It is sold out</span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Three Universities are cooperating to make this
happen- Central Connecticut State University, the University of Hartford and
Western Connecticut State University</span></div>
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</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">The University of Hartford, in addition to all
their other support, is supplying student volunteers who will direct and escort
people throughout the day. The University has purchased purple hats, scarves
and gloves for all these volunteers.</span></div>
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</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">We have wonderful sponsors such as Stanley Works
and Siracusa who have enabled families, foster families, and Klingberg
employees to attend, as well as helping us in many other ways.</span></div>
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</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">We are actually streaming the morning session to
the three universities and our Risking Connection agencies</span></div>
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</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Bruce Perry is speaking in Connecticut for the
first time</span></div>
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</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Jimmy Greene, Ana Grace</span><span style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Helvetica;">’</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">s
father will be performing with some friends, and there will be dance and other
music</span></div>
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</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">The wonderful breakout speakers will bring us
news of compassion at work in many arenas: schools, university, therapy provision,
urban settings, the larger community and in the family</span></div>
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</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">The parking and logistics have been worked out
and are manageable</span></div>
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</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">There are over 80 Klingberg volunteers, and I am
proud to have so much talent and passion to draw on for moderators, table
hosts, facilitators, registration workers, and many other jobs. People are
saying they are honored to participate.</span><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
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</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">There are beautiful centerpieces, gifts, hearts,
and decorations and purple is everywhere</span></div>
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</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">The audience is incredibly diverse, from
teachers to federal employees to Deans of Universities to families to church members
to Sandy Hook community members to representatives of foundations to therapists
to judges.</span><o:p><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"> </span></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">And most importantly, we have the miracle of the M</span><span style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Helvetica;">á</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">rquez-Greene
family, whose event this is.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Nelba, Jimmy and Isaiah will bring their message of
hope, of wrestling good from this tragedy, of the importance of love. Jimmy
will bring the music which will lift our hearts. Nelba will speak of her
experience. Isaiah will attend, and he is the only boy I know who is a hockey
goalie and a musician and can defeat someone in Connect Four in six moves while
singing the Star Spangled Banner.</span><o:p><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"> </span></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">And the conference above all represents the miracle of
Ana Grace, whose goal for her year was to tell stories, and whose story the
conference both tells and epitomizes. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtLnH_24jtqGTP6W6u4T3acjKf6-i0SoArPrbd0OJGjBwNkwy1XG04YUgmP2NsyaEHyLeVn_D9pdT5yR2-kiUbbW6Ek_gsC1CzAdkCjKeBGawSF2odED_58AS0uyqt5NiJX53i/s1600/Ana+and+Isaiah.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtLnH_24jtqGTP6W6u4T3acjKf6-i0SoArPrbd0OJGjBwNkwy1XG04YUgmP2NsyaEHyLeVn_D9pdT5yR2-kiUbbW6Ek_gsC1CzAdkCjKeBGawSF2odED_58AS0uyqt5NiJX53i/s320/Ana+and+Isaiah.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">I am so proud to be part of this!</span></div>
Patricia Wilcox, LCSWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07444420374748925069noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24739721.post-45539153810823466282013-11-17T10:33:00.003-05:002013-11-17T10:41:30.136-05:00Trouble in the Team<span class="s3">Angela is very upset. As the Coordinator of the Group Home she has worked hard to be supportive and caring towards her staff. She has been proud of her team, their good relationships and their low turnover. She has provided many staff recognition and fun activities.</span><span class="s3"> Now she is hearing only complaints. A recent staff survey revealed that staff feels that management undercuts them with the youth. </span><span class="s3">Staff have</span><span class="s3"> issues with her, the unit supervisor, and the therapist. Furthermore, Angela is starting to </span><span class="s3">not like the staff much either. They are so ungrateful. What have they got to complain about </span><span class="s3">anyway.</span><span class="s3"> Don’t they realize how hard she works and how she is always on call and responsive to them? She notices that they are getting more punitive in their responses to the kids. Naturally she has to step in and change what they have put in place. She is not going to allow the kids to be mistreated.</span><br />
<span class="s3"><br /></span>
<span class="s3">As a consultant in this situation my first impulse is to work on the content of the complaints. How could the team improve its cooperation when the girls do something wrong? What should the management do when the girls approach them? What should be the response when the </span><span class="s3">gir</span><span class="s3">;ls</span><span class="s3"> hurt others? Especially because </span><span class="s3">I am</span><span class="s3"> concerned that our responses are becoming </span><span class="s3">punative</span><span class="s3">, I want to jump in and discuss that.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">But wait-consider the parallel processes. All this is a symptom. It is adaptive. It is solving a problem. What is the problem? How is it adaptive? I know this team. They are caring, intelligent, thoughtful and compassionate. What is happening here?</span><br />
<br />
When I ask about their recent experience, I discover that the entire client population of this group home turned over within two months. Several were wonderful positive discharges. In a couple of cases girls were finally placed in a higher structured environment which they needed. So all of the youth are new, scarey, feeling unsafe, and acting in dramatic and extreme ways. Several staff have been assaulted. And the atmosphere has been non stop drama and intensity. Furthermore, the new clients are quite a bit younger than the previous clients. Younger, needing more help, with less ability, with fewer skills.<br />
<br />
It became clear to me that we needed to start with sharing how each of us had been impacted by these last few months.<br />
<br />
We started by remembering the girls who had left. What were we proud of that had happened with a those girls, including those who left for more restrictive environments? Were there ever moments when we could not imagine that they would ever change?<br />
<br />
Then we did the following exercise. Each person in the team had a large piece of paper. Their instructions were:<br />
<i>On your large piece of paper make 8 shapes- squares, circles, hearts, combinations, whatever. Then at the bottom make one more shape different from the rest.</i><br />
<i>In one shape, write some words about things that have made you happy at work in the last three months.</i><br />
<i>In one shape, write some words about things that have made you sad at work in the last three months.</i><br />
<i>In one shape, write some words about things that have made you hopeful at work in the last three months.</i><br />
<i>In one shape, write some words about things that have made you doubt yourself at work in the last three months.</i><br />
<i>In one shape, write some words about things that have made you feel energetic at work in the last three months.</i><br />
<i>In one shape, write some words about things that have made you feel tired at work in the last three months.</i><br />
<i>In one shape, write some words about things that you have enjoyed at work in the last three months.</i><br />
<i>In one shape, write some words about things that you are proud of at work in the last three months.</i><br />
<i>In the lower shape, write what your hopes are for the next three months. What would you like to do, learn, accomplish, experience? </i><br />
<i>Decorate your paper, showing connections, illustrating your ideas, making it reflect your experience at work in the last few months.</i><br />
<i>When you are done we will share our pages with each other.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
As each person shared their responses, several themes emerged. There is a great deal of caring and connection in the team. People take care of eachother, joke together, have fun together. There is a small beginning of hopefulness. People have been very worn out by the last few months, and some have been hurt. Everyone has had moments of doubt. Everyone has also had moments of delight with the girls.<br />
<br />
We made no attempt to find solutions or simplify our complex responses. It was enough to share it.<br />
It was clear that we had fallen into the all too easy practice of judging our day by how the girls acted. We talked about how we could shift to judging our day by what we did.<br />
<br />
There are still specifics to be worked out and more discussions to be had. But we will start these discussions from a more connected place and with a better awareness of the importance of our mission.<br />
<br />
When you experience troubles in your team (and you will) I urge you to look beneath the symptoms and focus on how the work is affecting the people who are doing it. Share that before considering action steps. Share your experiences and thoughts by clicking on "comment" below.<br />
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<br />Patricia Wilcox, LCSWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07444420374748925069noreply@blogger.com1