Sarah Lane, Owner of S&H Training Center in Olympia, will be speaking at the January meeting of the Senior Action Network on Tuesday, January 23 at 8 am. Sarah will be sharing how to use the principles of safety, choice, collaboration, trust, and empowerment to provide compassionate care to trauma survivors. This approach is called Trauma Informed Care (TIC).
Trauma can include physical, sexual, or emotional abuse, witnessing abuse or addiction, family dysfunction, illness, injury, accidents, hospitalizations, natural disasters, terror attacks, war, loss of employment, or death of a loved one.
Many people have had some level of trauma in their past. 62% of adults in Washington state have reported experiencing at least one trauma-related incident that caused intense physical and psychological stress reactions. Trauma can affect individuals, families, communities, geographical areas, specific cultures, and entire generations.
Trauma generally overwhelms an individual’s or community’s resources to cope, and it often ignites the “fight or flight” reaction at the time of the event. Trauma frequently produces a sense of fear, vulnerability, and helplessness. Experiencing a traumatic incident can lead to depression, anxiety, PTSD, substance abuse, nightmares, trust issues, and other challenging behaviors.
TIC centers on gathering information about each client and their trauma, remaining sensitive to issues or behaviors they may have and creating opportunities for survivors to rebuild a sense of control and empowerment.
It is important that we develop relationships, make connections, and find a mutual understanding with a trauma survivor. We want to understand them, learn their triggers and coping mechanisms, and find a way to provide the best care that resists re-traumatization and promote resiliency. It is crucial that we understand that some routine care tests might be perceived as threatening to someone who has experienced trauma. This approach is vital for their physical, social, emotional, and spiritual well-being.
Using TIC, you will come to view traumatic stress reactions as normal responses to living through an abnormal situation and understand that symptoms or behaviors are attempts to cope with trauma. The goal with TIC is to shift our perspective from “What is wrong with you?” to “What has happened to you, and how can I best support you?”
The monthly SAN meeting is held on the 4th Tuesday of every month at the Olympia Senior Center, 222 Columbia Street in Olympia (rear entrance). Guests are welcome! For more information, go to the website: www.sanolympia.org.
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