[Tanya Haley]

Question #1: Jacinta may benefit from focusing on engagement strategies. She is ambivalent treatment and exploring avenues to help her become more empowered in her own health care may help her move through the process and take ownership. She also would benefit from strategies that focus on traumatic memories and their tie into her current substance use disorder and behaviors.

Question #2: As her counselor, I would elicit a sense of collaboration by allowing her to explain what she means by Susto and what that means to her. Ask her if she knows of any family members or friends who have experiences Susto and what might they have done to help them.

Question #3: Since she is a of Seeking Safety. She might benefit from the ATRIUM model. This 12-week program may help her to address and learn new coping strategies to deal with stress. We would refer Jacinta to this program as we are not equipped to handle this level of trauma and would want to make sure she is in the best care.

Question #4: This course brought forward many concepts that I had already had knowledge on. The information that may be most useful in our practice relates to making your practice TIC. Establishing procedures and provide tools and resources to staff. This course was also a reminder that trauma effect people in many ways a treating trauma is a very individualized approach. What is good for one client, may not be good for another.

[Tanya Haley]

Question #1: Christina’s story was a bit disturbing in the way she was treated at such a young age. It was also disturbing that the doctors wanted to medicate her and put her in a facility. That part of the story, I just do not understand. But one thing that stood out to me was her resilience at a young age and the fact that the mother (while not believing her) was still present enough to know that what was being done was not sufficient or aiding in her daughter’s care. Christina had the inner resilience (not sure where this came from) that propelled her to seek out answers and change. She some how knew that she needed help and sought help. She continued to strive to be better than her diagnosis, going to school and getting her degree.
Connecting her to resources-finding therapist. Taking action-which she did when she began searching the internet for answers. She was taking an active role in her recovery. Peer support-attending groups of those who have had similar experiences

Question #2: Two tools that could be helpful in my practice would be the ACE inventory and PTSD inventory. Pros to using these tools would be to enlighten the practitioner on some potential trauma that might be impacting the client current physiological or psychological symptoms. Some cons to using these tools is the potential to uncover some past traumas that the client may not be ready to process. So it is a balance on learning when the appropriate time and situation to use would be.

Question #3: First and foremost, one must establish safety. Establishing that you are safe with you and in the environment. Work to avoid re-traumatization and normalize her feelings. Then work on establishing some healthy sleep habits through empowering her.

[Tanya Haley]

Question #1:
Trauma informed approaches are a more recent approach to the organization that I work for. Efforts are being made to train and educate staff because of current employee’s efforts to bring awareness to mental health and trauma informed care. Currently there are no procedures and policies in place that support TIC within the organization, but we are making strides to get there.

Question #2:
I feel I Understand the difference among various kinds of abuse and trauma, including physical, emotional, and sexual abuse; domestic violence; experiences of war for both combat veterans and survivors of war; natural disasters; and community violence, but also feel that continuing education will be essential in maintaining my understanding.

Question #3:
Larry’s approach was confrontational and not in line with TIC. Given the clients past exposure to trauma and the fact that she was uncomfortable sharing in a group which was mainly dominated by men. Larry should have engaged her in a supportive conversation to give her the opportunity to express her concerns or engage in further discussion on how she can remain in the program that might include an environment that is more supportive of her past trauma. Larry also could have taken a step back and consulted with a coworker or supervisor prior to engaging in a confrontation with the client to elicit other ways to engage this client.

[Tanya Haley]

Question 1
My initial reaction to the short video was that unfortunately this is only one story of many. It is that her cries both verbal and expressed through art went unanswered. The system failed Anna and her family and countless others who have been pushed through the system. Only applying a Band-Aid to a bullet wound. In order to heal past trauma one must be able to look past the symptoms in order to see the personal to understand the best way to treat. As an example: You have two people who are obese and diabetic. Patient A has experience many years of early childhood trauma. Obesity and diabetes is a result over emotionally eating and using weight as a protection from abuse. Patient B is a product of their upbringing of unhealthy eating habits and lower education levels in the home. Both have the same “symptoms” but different etiology. Here is where “Truth lies in a person’s story, not in their symptoms.”

Question 2
As I stated above the traditional model of medicine is like putting a Band-Aid on a bullet hole. Focusing solely on symptom treatment does not take into account the story behind the symptoms and many times the story is needed to understand the root of the issue. We know that trauma, especially in early childhood increase risk factor for unhealthy behaviors and long term chronic health outcomes. Address trauma and the treating the person is one step in improving overall health outcomes for the individual. Not to mention the potential to reduce the financial burden of extended health care cost. To go back to Anna, she was in the system for 19 years. Countless healthcare dollars were spent on treating her symptoms. Which was not successful and ultimately lead to her untimely death. Should Anna have been treated as whole person, the outcome most certainly would have been different.

There are so many “symptoms” that could easily be considered pathologically, but really are protective strategies adapted to survive the experience of trauma. Obesity can be seen as a problem unhealthy eating patterns, but in reality could be a coping skill to avoid being traumatized/abused. Whether they want to reduce their physical appearance to protect themselves or are eating to cope with the pain they feel inside. Many traditional models of medicine may treat this as simply a behavior problem and not a mental health issue.

Question 3
While our agency does not inquire about trauma histories. We do practice Collaboration and Mutuality, Empowerment, Voice and Choice. Our practice uses motivational interviewing skills to help elicit the clients engagement in the process. Using these skills to work with a client where they are at and encourage them to have a sense of autonomy. Putting them in the driver’s seat so to speak. Letting them have a sense of control in the situation. Recently our team has received Mental Health First Aide training to assist in our day to day interactions with clients.

[Tanya Haley]

Hello, I am a program coordinator and health and wellness coach. Our company offers engagement strategies in a variety of different settings. Professionally and Personally, I have a vested interest in how trauma informed care and am exploring the benefits of this practice in health coaching settings. My goal is to continue to learn about this practice and how it can increase client success and reduce the negative health impacts related to adverse experiences.

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