In light of recent events and protests fueled by the senseless and tragic deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and countless black people and other people of color, the Trauma Informed Care Network joins the voices of those speaking out about these issues.  These recent events have served to highlight the ongoing issues of racial injustice, inequity, and intergenerational abuse and trauma that have occurred in our country and worldwide.  TICN hopes to be able to contribute to the ongoing dialogue, solutions, and healing.  As TICN was originally formed by many who had an interest in the impact of emotional trauma and fostering resiliency, this is an issue that we feel strongly about.   Part of TICN’s mission has been to inform, educate, network, and enable access to trauma informed solutions and interventions and we hope to lend our resources to contribute to this movement.

Much of my experience as a trauma-informed therapist has been to work with individuals and families who have experienced a variety of traumas.  General principles apply in this work on a smaller scale which seem to be relevant to this currently highlighted collective trauma of racial injustice.  With individuals, we first need to create a safe space and listen when impacted individuals are ready and able to voice their trauma.  Without judgement, we need to really hear thoughts, emotions, and experiences surrounding traumas, to work to understand peoples’ experiences, and to compassionately validate how these events have landed on and impacted individuals over time. We need to understand that each person’s story is unique and we cannot judge their experience nor dictate how they should feel.  As we create this safe space we can hope to listen, support, give space for processing and emotional healing, as well as assist people to action in working out practical solutions in their lives, families, and communities to create present and future safety and resilience.  

Similarly, in order for healing to occur within black communities and within our culture at large, we (especially white people and other privileged individuals) need to create a safe space and listen as black people voice their traumas that have happened on a personal, cultural, and historical level. We must not become defensive in this process or use the listening space to voice our own shame if we have benefited from systemic racism and privilege in the past and/or currently do. The goal is to listen and be a witness to the voicing of how systemic racism has impacted black people and black communities. One way to heal trauma is to have autonomy and choice – to be able to act in defense of one’s safety and to promote sovereignty over one’s own life. In addition to  listening to black people and being witness to their current and historical pain and suffering, we can help  to empower and stand in support of their leadership, using any privileges we may have to be allies in actions taken to create future safety, healing, and resilience for people of color and society at large.  

As I think about our collective experience whether we are white or a person of color, we have all been impacted by these present and historical issues and we can take this opportunity to own and recognize our experience, blind spots, protective reactions, responsibility, etc.  As we provide a safe listening space, compassionate understanding and validation for our individual and collective experiences, hopefully we can promote healing and action towards practical solutions to move our society forward to a safer and healthier place.  We need to be especially attentive to those who have been directly or indirectly impacted by individual and systemic racism and have experienced the effects of present and/or intergenerational trauma. Those impacted especially need this safety and listening space where we can seek to hear and understand their traumas to facilitate healing, growth, and action towards a more equitable society.  

In addition to individual and family interventions, some of our work at TICN has also been focused on promoting trauma informed organizations and cultures, also very relevant to this discussion.  SAMHSA’s (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Association) six principles of trauma informed care as shown below are appropriately relevant to this discussion.

If we can approach these current issues of racial injustice and activism with the goal of creating Safety for all of those involved, we will be more able to create healing spaces and room for dialogue and solutions. If we can promote Trustworthiness and Transparency in individuals, agencies, institutions, we can more effectively achieve understanding, take responsibility, and facilitate needed change. We need to involve Peer Support by encouraging and providing opportunities and platforms for those who might be struggling or working for solutions, to be able to show up for each other and have avenues to reach out in times of need for collective strength.  We need to  see that we are all in this together, that this is a collective problem that requires an attitude of Collaboration and Mutuality versus divisiveness to foster sustainable solutions.  We need to Empower Voice and Choice – we need to hear from and encourage those whose voices may have been dismissed, ignored, or minimized to be able to speak up and share their experiences, unmet needs, and potential solutions. This is an opportunity to fully hear the pain and trauma experienced by those who have been victims of individual and systemic racism and racial injustice and allow space for getting these needs met and to explore ways of restoring justice.  And finally, implicit in all of this is an increased call for us to become more educated and aware of the Cultural, Historical, and Gender Issues where many in our communities, especially minorities and people of color, have been harmed.  TICN seeks to be allies in the movement to promote these principles to work towards healing and restorative justice and welcomes collective involvement, collaboration, and dialogue surrounding these important issues.

Anti-Racism Educational Resources 

• 75 Things White People Can Do for Racial Justice
• Anti-Racism Project
• Resources for White People to Learn and Talk About Race and Racism
• Save the Tears: White Woman’s Guide by Tatiana Mac

Books to Read:

• The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander
• Black Feminist Thought by Patricia Hill Collins
• How To Be An Antiracist by Dr. Ibram X. Kendi
• I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
• Me and White Supremacy by Layla F. Saad

Podcasts to subscribe to:

• About Race
• Intersectionality Matters! hosted by Kimberlé Crenshaw
• Seeing White

Articles to read:

• “America’s Racial Contract Is Killing Us” by Adam Serwer | Atlantic (May 8, 2020)
• “Where do I donate? Why is the uprising violent? Should I go protest?” by Courtney Martin (June 1, 2020)
• ”White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack” by Knapsack Peggy McIntosh
• “Who Gets to Be Afraid in America?” by Dr. Ibram X. Kendi | Atlantic (May 12, 2020)

Presenter:  Roberto Scordari, BodyTalk Practitioner

Roberto Scordari is a certified BodyTalk practitioner and a member of the Global Healing Association since 2014. He uses Emotional Freedom Techniques and was trained in Europe as an emotional counselor. Although he found these tools very useful in helping people improve their emotional and physical well being, he always felt something was lacking. Then, his marriage led him to the U.S where he discovered the missing piece: The BodyTalk System.

Roberto always strongly believed in and often witnessed the immense potential and capacity of the body to self-heal at all levels. In BodyTalk he found a truly holistic, integrative, consciousness-based health care system where he can combine all his expertise in order to awaken and enhance the healing abilities that reside in the body-mind complex. After certifying as a BodyTalk Practitioner, Roberto and his wife moved back to Europe where he successfully ran a practice for a few years.

Now that he and his family are living again in the U.S., he’s excited to continue helping people improve their overall wellbeing as he finishes his Masters in Clinical Social Work.

Presentation Topic: BodyTalk – Finding the Root Disease by Addressing the Whole Person

BodyTalk is a holistic health care system that understands the profound influence that our psychology has on our body-mind complex. Rather than focusing on symptoms, BodyTalk finds the underlying cause of disease by addressing the whole person.

Reviewed by Laura Godenick, TICN Program Coordinator

Adverse Childhood Experiences, also called ACEs, are being considered a health crisis. These include a child experiencing or witnessing divorce, abuse of any kind, violence, alcoholism, or addiction in the home. Experiencing ACES makes the body feel as though it’s under attack all the time, creating a “disrupted stress response affecting the neurological, immune, hormonal and cardiovascular systems”. California’s Surgeon General Nadine Burke Harris names 6 important treatment steps in her book “The Deepest Well”. These include sleep, exercise, nutrition, mindfulness, mental health support for child and parent, and healthy relationships. Read the full article here.

Reviewed by Laura Godenick, TICN Program Coordinator

The University of Manchester research suggests that people with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) are 13 times more likely to have experienced an adverse experience than people who have experienced little to no trauma. There were 42 international studies with at least 5,000 participants each that suggested these results. In addition, it also suggested that people with BPD is more associated with childhood trauma than other mood disorders. Physical neglect was the most common form of trauma experienced by those with BPD, followed by emotional abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse, and emotional neglect. BPD is an emotional disorder making it hard for an individual to control their emotional impulses. Things that would be considered a minor issue for some people would be responded with overwhelming emotion by a person with BPD, making it hard for them to function in day-to-day life. These findings certainly show the importance of using trauma-informed-care as an approach when caring for folks needing mental health services where the prevalence of BPD is high. See the full article here.

Presenter:  Samantha Leonard

Samantha Leonard is an accomplished author, researcher and storyteller who speaks on the topics of protecting communities, empowering survivors and learning to use empathy as a tool to heal. As a survivor of sexual abuse, Samantha is passionate about addressing sexual assault and the power of connecting with survivors and communities. She is especially knowledgeable on the topic of childhood grooming and how charm and compassion are used to hide crimes and shame survivors into silence. Through the power of narrative, her book, Groomed: Shining a Light on the Unheard Narrative of Childhood Sexual Abuse, is a live testimonial to life after abuse and provides hope for those that feel alone.

Ms. Leonard is currently a Master’s of Social Work student, committed to helping survivors find their voice and play a part in changing the culture around sexual violence by educating and inspiring communities. Samantha spent 4 years serving on her college Sexual Offense Support Crisis Hotline listening and validating survivors’ experiences. Her dream is to spend her life connecting with others and to make the world a more loving placethrough social work writing, speaking and relationships.  To connect with Samantha, contact her at samanthaleonard515@gmail.com.

Presentation Topic: Shining a Light on the Unheard Narrative of Childhood Sexual Assault 

Samantha presents on the stages of the grooming process and how it is used to manipulate children and communities at large. She covers common red flags in grooming relationships and encourages communities to listen to children and have a healthy curiosity about people in their children’s’ lives. Her goal is to equip parents and community members with the skills to start age-appropriate conversations with children on sex, consent, and the human body and learn how to respond when a child discloses sexual assault.

Presenter:  Kristan Warnick, CMHC

Kristan Warnick co-founded the Trauma Informed Care Network of Utah in 2013 to facilitate networking and education between trauma informed mental health care givers and the community. In 2017 Trauma Informed Care Network was established as a formal non-profit organization and she currently sits on its Executive Board. She is also a member of the Trauma Resiliency Collaborative (TRC), another Utah trauma informed initiative group.  She currently serves as an appointee to the Utah State Advisory Board on Children’s Justice and Children’s Justice Act Task Force. Kristan is also a Clinical Mental Health Counselor and founder of Healing Pathways Therapy Center, a trauma and attachment focused counseling center with locations in Millcreek and Provo, UT. Previous to founding her private counseling practice, Kristan spent thirteen years working as a school psychologist in public schools in Utah and Alaska.  She also served on the faculty at Brigham Young University in the Counseling Psychology and Special Education Department. Kristan received her BS in Psychology (1994) and MS in School Psychology (1997) from BYU. She grew up in the Seattle area and currently enjoys spending time at home, being in the outdoors, traveling, and recreating with her son and husband. She is passionate about and appreciates opportunities to connect, network, and educate on issues surrounding trauma awareness and trauma treatment.

Presentation Topic: Understanding EMDR

This presentation will cover a basic understanding of emotional trauma, its impact, and how to address and resolve trauma symptoms and repercussions using Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing.  We will cover history, facts, and myths of EMDR, as well as the Adaptive Information Processing Model which serves as one of the foundations of the theory of EMDR.  This presentation will include a video case study of an EMDR session as well as explaining the eight phases of EMDR treatment.  Simple EMDR techniques will be demonstrated with the audience. This presentation is appropriate for any member of the community – mental health and medical professionals, agency workers, clients, and general community members.

Check out our TICN monthly presentation for October 2019!

Purchase tickets for the event here!

A body of rigorous research into the efficacy of neurofeedback for the healing of mental health issues and trauma exists and is growing. Historically there has been a treatment emphasis on brain neurochemical interventions, not neuroelectric. Neurofeedback has potential to treat any significant neurological and psychiatric disorders in a way that is free from long term side-effects. Effectiveness in some hard to treat populations is promising. Frequently long-lasting effects are seen, as evidenced with PTSD and SPECT brain scans. Neurofeedback’s application is not only focused on deficits but has an application to peak performance in athletes, musicians and elites. The implications and outcomes are profound both scientifically and clinically.

1. Brief History  
2. Othmer Method- client centered model of brain regulation and stabilization
3. Training types- 

• Infra Low Frequency (Awake State)
• Synchrony (EEG guided mindfulness)
• Alpha-Theta (Deep State)

1. Treatment in use of refractory or non-responsive diagnosis and co-morbid conditions
2. Application to trauma informed therapeutic settings in correlation to EMDR and compassion fatigue prevention
3. Limitations of neurofeedback
4. Q&A

Presenter: Danielle Musick, Certified Othmer Method neurofeedback provider and psychotherapist at Healing Pathways Therapy Center

Danielle Musick is a Certified Othmer Method neurofeedback provider and psychotherapist at Healing Pathways Therapy Center. She trained with Sue Othmer, BCIAC and Siegfried Othmer, PhD, two of the world’s leading neurofeedback experts.

Danielle graduated from the University of Utah in 2002 with a Bachelor of Science in Health Education and Promotion and Secondary Education Licensure, majoring in health and minoring in coaching. Danielle is a Master of Social Work candidate at Arizona State University and specializes in trauma, attachment, and chronic illnesses such as Lyme disease, chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia.

After working as a pharmacy technician, junior high health teacher, high school swim coach, structured foster parent and special needs adoptive parent, a great passion for social welfare and mental health was ignited. She has been involved in mental health organization positions such as Chair of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Salt Lake City Affiliate and Chair of Wasatch Mental Health Friends of Giant Steps (FOGS). Currently she is the Founder President of a not for profit organization called the Utah Coalition for Lyme Disease. Danielle loves spending time with her spouse, four children and three dogs in the mountains.

If you’re interested in trying Neurofeedback, learn more about it here! 

If you’re looking for providers who are trauma-informed, check out our Provider’s Directory here.

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Purchase tickets to the event here!