Employees in community behavioral health and education settings are regularly exposed to traumatic material. Students and clients carry trauma exposure ranging from difficult school transitions, immigration traumas, and intrafamilial violence. This manifests in school and treatment settings in increased mental health struggles and often problematic behaviors including but not limited to violence. Holding space for students and clients amidst their trauma response undoubtedly affects the good people working with them. Witnessing matriculated struggles, managing to keep milieus safe, and witnessing treatment and/or education “failures” can be a heavy weight for professionals to carry. Many training courses in trauma exposure focus on defining compassion fatigue, secondary and vicarious trauma, and exploring elements of self-care. This interactive presentation will focus on building a community of care and developing intention in navigating trauma affected systems to a place of post traumatic growth.
Presentation objectives: • Understand what makes a trauma affected system • Understand the difference between sustained trauma exposure in systems and single incident trauma • Understand how trauma exposure effects professionals in trauma affected systems • Understand meaning making and post traumatic growth • Discuss and explore intentional strategies of self-care, and to build communities of care
