This Web site is a component of the SAMHSA Health Information Network
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This Web site is a component of the SAMHSA Health Information Network. |
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Trauma Matters – February 2009The e-Newsletter from CMHS' National Center for Trauma-Informed Care Transformation in Action: IllinoisTrauma-informed care is dramatically changing the landscape of trauma services. The purpose of this column is to describe the new look of trauma services, and how, through trauma-informed care, individual states have begun to transform their service landscape. Rule 132 has been changed to include trauma/abuse history as part of funded providers' assessment, the need to educate providers in effective trauma-informed care has become more necessary than ever and a vital part of improving the system. In 2006-2007, the DVMHPI, working with several other groups, trained over 1,500 people involved in trauma services statewide. Using a three-year grant from the Office of Violence against Women, the DVMHPI is also conducting the "Building Capacity to End Violence Against Women with Psychiatric Disabilities Project"-an effort to raise the capacity of service systems while reducing the violence experienced by women with psychiatric disabilities. And, in collaboration with domestic violence and child trauma experts, the DVMHPI developed and piloted two curricula designed for providers who see juvenile victims of trauma. Of course, implementation on paper and implementation are two different things, so the DVMHPI took the next step in the progression. In coordination with several state mental health agencies and domestic violence providers, the DVMHPI worked to weave into services the Trauma Recovery and Empowerment (TREM) and Sanctuary Models. So how does this transformed landscape appear to survivors? No more long waits for service-this is just one of the improvements to services. Through the DVMHPI, the Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH) partnered with domestic violence programs to enhance services for trauma survivors in three Chicago-land pilot sites. The model created through these pilot programs will form the basis for systemic change in other mental health centers. The improvements: DV survivors received treatment within 24-48 hours from the time of referral and had access to an onsite trauma counselor; and staffing was shared between agencies. The idea of survivors helping survivors has also been part of Illinois' altered trauma services landscape. For example, the Marjorie Kovler Center for the Treatment of Survivors of Torture, pairs survivors with staff and volunteers to determine needs, identify potential barriers, and break down those barriers when they come between survivors and effective care. One could say that old, archaic provider-based systems are like plaque clogging the arteries of effective healthcare. Illinois has undergone a bypass of sorts-the transformation of its health services to trauma-informed care has left the heartbeat of Illinois health services stronger, healthier than ever. Trauma service providers of other states may want to take its pulse and listen. What I Make, Makes Me Feel Safe
The beauty Mary Ann found was in jade carved creatures - bats, moths, dragons - and night blooming flowers that she assembled into a necklace that she wears over her heart like a shield. These creatures of the night not only reminded her of the positive, but also the safety and healing that was taking place. The symbolism in the jewelry she makes is meant to speak to "what the soul needs and wants." Another piece in Mary Ann's collection of jewelry is a quartz beaded necklace, but with exceptional stones that took more than three years to find. The quartz used was in the process of changing, so metal strands can be seen in each bead. Like the embedding that happens with some that self injure, the lines beneath the surface of these stones aren't seen from far away - so they carry a symbolic message. In addition to the jewelry she makes, Mary Ann also sews beautiful quilted shawls. One that she has worn for years - and mostly during times when she needs comfort, safety, and grounding - looks like angel's wings, with lavender and blue fabric that has a feather-like print to it. What Mary Ann has come to see time and time again when wearing this out is that other consumers and survivors also want that comfort, so she makes and sells replicas and new items that "give others some joy" in what she has found so healing. Photographs by Nick Kline Witness Justice Launches TrainingForums.orgThe U.S. Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) and Witness Justice (WJ) have developed TrainingForums.org, an innovative Web-based training and education program created to address important and difficult issues facing professionals that work with survivors of domestic violence. TrainingForums.org is a service provider training facility comprised of (initially) three (3) free courses along with a community discussion forum featuring expert moderators on 12 distinct topics. This program also marks an important collaboration between the Department of Justice and the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), where DHHS' National Center for Trauma-Informed Care serves as expert counsel on trauma as it relates to the course topics. The e-learning platform is designed to help providers with hot topics facing this field of service provision. The initial courses include understanding trauma and creating trauma-informed services; cultural competency; and responding to undocumented survivors. The development of this program is a major step in creating an accessible, cost effective, state-of-the-art tool to deepen professional understanding on difficult and emerging topics, while building peer support and fostering dialog in the domestic violence community. It is the outcome of Witness Justice's National Domestic Violence Task Force that was assembled in 2005 to find innovative ways to address gaps in this field. Both the courses and forums can be accessed by going to www.TrainingForums.org. Healing Strategies: Emotional Rescue: Music TherapyWhen you think about high school, what sounds come to mind? What songs are linked with that period of your life? If your life had a soundtrack, what songs or other sounds would it contain? Would your life's experience sound like the music from When Harry Met Sally? Or like Zarathustra's Roundelay-a symphony based on the work of Friedrich Nietzsche (think 2001: A Space Odyssey)? Or both? Regardless of the melodies on your life's soundtrack, the reality is that most people associate life events with certain music. Like art, music resides in the right brain, and the same dynamic supporting Art Therapy suggests that music can also provide a cathartic to trauma survivors, particularly those who find it difficult to express their feelings in words. Enter music therapy-an innovative and established modality for treating trauma survivors. According to the American Music Therapy Association (AMTA), music therapy "is the clinical and evidence-based use of music interventions to accomplish individualized goals within the therapeutic relationship." Music therapists have employed sound and rhythm to help survivors of violent crime and veterans suffering from PTSD, among others. Nursing home residents who "Don't Get Around Much Anymore" find themselves "Stompin' At the Savoy," if not physically, then emotionally. In fact, the marriage between music therapy and PTSD began at least a century ago. While the American Music Therapy Association, founded in 1998, is still a pre-teen, it enjoys a pedigree that dates back to The Great War when musicians visited veterans' hospitals and played for soldiers suffering from combat fatigue, trauma, or to use the nomenclature of the time, "shellshock." During World War II, such luminaries as Glenn Miller brought their 'big band' sound to the big theaters of Europe and brought smiles to war-weary soldiers. It is no mistake that the first music therapy program was born at Michigan State University in 1944-the treatment worked. It transformed mindscapes wrecked by bombs and beach landings into "Winter Wonderland" and "Autumn in New York." Interested readers may find more information at the AMTA's website. The AMTA publishes a journal, the Journal of Music Therapy, which "promotes a vast amount of research exploring the benefits of music as therapy." A website called Peaceful Mind, offering "alternative medicine and therapies for healing mind, body, and spirit," provides specific information about the benefits of music therapy and how one can use it to wash away the mental detritus deposited on the psyche. If you're thinking "But Not For Me," think again: music, according to the experts, can alleviate just about any emotional trauma a person may experience, from the serious to the simple. It has the power to transform a person from feeling like "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off" into "Love is Here to Stay." And it can be used "Where and When" the listener wants. The Rolling Stones sang about "emotional rescue," and that is exactly what music therapy can provide. Where We've BeenNCTIC team members and other consultants have provided over 35 Trainings in 18 states over the past five months to diverse audiences including:
Helga Luest (West) attended the invitation-only Community Reintegration Summit: Service Members and Veterans Returning to Civilian Life, with 100 experts attending. It was organized by Survivor Corps, Booz Allen Hamilton and The Veterans Coalition in Washington, DC. (January 26-27, 2009) Calendar of EventsFebruary 5-6, 2009 - Family Violence and Child Trauma Conference - HEALING THE GENERATIONS: A Family Violence and Child Trauma Conference, co-sponsored by the Mashantucket Tribal Nation and Clifford Beers Clinic, Ledyard, CT February 6-8, 2009 - Transforming Core Beliefs Voice Therapy: Challenging Defenses and Freeing Clients to Live in the Present, Beverly Hills Country Club, Los Angeles, CA February 20-22, 2009 - Transforming Core Beliefs Voice Therapy: Challenging Defenses and Freeing Clients to Live in the Present, International House, UC - Berkeley, CA February 26 - March 19, 2009 - Trauma-Informed Code of Ethics, Forum Discussion, hosted by Wanda Finch (SAMHSA) & Steve Harrington (NAOPS) February 27-28, 2009 - Transforming Core Beliefs Voice Therapy: Challenging Defenses and Freeing Clients to Live in the Present, Vancouver, BC, Canada March 4-6, 2009 - Social Workers - Agents of Change: Journey of Remembrance & Renewal, Kellogg Conference Center at Gallaudet University, Washington DC March 31-April 2, 2009 - 6th Annual Hawaii Conference on Preventing, Assessing and Treating Child, Adolescent, and Adult Trauma, sponsored by the Institute on Violence, Abuse and Trauma, Honolulu HI September 9-11, 2009 - National Sexual Assault Conference, sponsored by The National Sexual Violence Resource Center, Alexandria, VA September 21-26, 2009 - 14th International Conference on Violence, Abuse, and Trauma, sponsored by the Institute on Violence, Abuse and Trauma, San Diego, CA Contact Infop: 866-254-4819 Join the Trauma-Informed Group on Facebook |
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