1. Keysha L. Myers Myron J. Lewis
“Unpacking Your Clients’ – and Your – Bags”: Creating safe spaces to unpack primary trauma with clients and secondary trauma in the workplace.
Keysha L. Myers
Myron J. Lewis

2. When you hear the word trauma what is your first thought?
In five words or less

3. Trauma
Trauma is a response to an upsetting event in a person’s life: community and domestic violence, abuse, neglect, natural disasters, accidents, painful medical procedures, or loss of parent/caregiver.
Affects physical, mental, behavioral, and emotional development

4. How trauma and toxic stress impact brain development
According to Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) study conducted by CDC and Kaiser Permanente, almost 2/3 of American adults reported that they endured at least one adverse childhood experience % endured 4 or more ACEs.
National Survey of Children’s Exposure to Violence showed that more than 60% of children and adolescents were exposed to violence in the past year.
“Violence and ensuing psychological trauma can lead children to adopt an attitude of hypervigilance, to become experts at detecting threat or perceived threat —never able to let down their guard in order to be ready for the next outbreak of violence… They may turn to gangs or criminal activities to prevent others from viewing them as weak and to counteract feelings of despair and powerlessness, perpetuating the cycle of violence and increasing their risk of incarceration.”
“The picture becomes even more complex when children are “polyvictims” (exposed to multiple types of violence)…the toxic combination of exposure to intimate partner violence, physical abuse, sexual abuse,and/or exposure to community violence increases the risk and severity of posttraumatic injuries and mental health disorders by at least twofold and up to as much as tenfold. Polyvictimized children are at very high risk for losing the fundamental capacities necessary for normal development, successful learning, and a productive adulthood.”

5. Self-Care
What is Self-Care?
Why is it needed?

6. Self-Care Defined
Self-Care- Providing care for yourself that proactively enhances your (our) health and personal well-being. It is a preventive measure that we take before an illness and or disease is exhibited.
The World Health Organization: "The ability of individuals, families, and communities to promote health, prevent disease, and maintain health and to cope with illness and disability without the support of a health-care provider."

7. Self-Care Assessment
Using the scale below, rate the following areas in terms of frequency:
5= Frequently
4= Occasionally
3= Rarely
2= Never
1= It never occurred to me

8. Self-Care Assessment
Physical Self-Care ____ Eat regularly (e.g. breakfast, lunch and dinner) ____ Eat healthy ____ Exercise ____ Get regular medical care when needed ____ Take time off when needed ____ Dance, swim walk, run, play sports, sing or do some physical activity that is fun ____ Take time to be sexual – with yourself, with a partner ____Get enough sleep ____ Take day trips or mini-vacations
Spiritual Self-Care
____ Spend time with nature
____ Find a spiritual connection or community
____ Be open to inspiration
____ cherish your optimism and hop
____ Be aware of nonmaterial aspects of life
____ Be open to not knowing
____ Meditate. Pray and Sing
____ Have experiences of awe
____ Contribute to causes in which you believe
____ Read inspirational literature (talks, music, etc.)

9. Psychological Self-Care
____ Make time for self-reflection or let others know different aspects of you
____ Engage your intelligence in a new area, e.g. go to an art museum, history exhibit,
____ sports event, auction, theater performance
____ Practicing receiving from others
____ Say “no” to extra responsibilities sometimes
____ Notice your inner experience – listen to your thoughts, judgments, beliefs, and feelings.
Emotional Self-Care
____ Spend time w/others whose company you enjoy
____ Stay in contact w/important people in your life
____ Give your self affirmations, praise yourself
____ Love yourself
____ Re-read books, re-view favorite movies
____ Allow yourself to cry
____ Find things that make you laugh
____ Express your outrage in social action, letters and donations, marches, protests
____ Play with children
____ Identify comforting activities, objects, people, relationships, places and seek them out

10. Workplace or professional Self-Care
____ Take a break during the workday (e.g. lunch)
____ Take time to chat with co-workers or have a peer support group
____ Make quiet time to complete tasks
____ Identify projects or tasks that are exciting and rewarding
____ Set limits with your clients and colleagues
____ Balance your caseload so that no one day or part of a day is “too much”
____ Arrange your work space so it is comfortable and comforting
____ Get regular supervision or consultation
____ Develop a non-trauma area of professional interest
Balance
____ Strive for balance within your work-life and workday
____ strive for balance among work, family, relationship, play and rest

11. Humpty Dumpty

12. Restorative …..
to bring back to a state of health, soundness, or vigor.
Re-store- verb (used with object), re·stored, re·stor·ing. 1. to bring back into existence, use, or the like; reestablish: to restore order

13. Restorative Justice Who has been hurt? What are their needs?
Whose obligations are these?
Who should be part of the process of determining what needs to be done to repair the harm?
What specific collaborative process would be most helpful for determining how to put things right?

14. Put Your Oxygen Mask On

15. IN WHAT WAYS DO You Put Your Oxygen Mask On FIRST??

16. How Can This Be done in the workplace
Creating safe spaces to unpack in the workplace for yourselves and clients
Priorities Self-Care
Wellness Programming
Implementing Self-Care Practices in the Workplace
Chair Yoga
Promote Healthy Lifestyle Practices
Walking
Education
Restorative Justice Peace Circles!!!!

17. What Are Peace Circles?
A structured process of organizing effective group communication.
Sacred & Organic Space
Conflict resolution
Opens fresh possibilities for connection
Collaboration & mutual understanding
Meeting space
Talking piece
Centerpiece
Keeper(s)
Ceremony & Ritual (Opening/Closing)
Values & Guidelines
Consensus Decision making

18. Self-Care Conversations
Feeling burned out?! Need to talk?!
Self-Care Circles are structured discussion designed to provide caring professionals the opportunity to speak openly about the emotional strains considered to be inherent to professions within social services. The circle process is a restorative justice model approach aimed at healing through the use of personal interaction and peer to peer support.
 Self-care conversations aim to:
 Promote wellness by relieving the burden of daily workplace stress.
Educate staff on the personal and professional effects of secondary trauma.
Encourage employees to participate in self-care practices and techniques.

19. Recognizing Secondary Traumatic Stress
Recognizing Secondary Traumatic Stress *Related Conditions: Burnout, Compassion Fatigue, Vicarious Trauma
□ Anger and Cynicism
□ Chronic Exhaustion
□ Depression
□ Diminished Self-Care
□ Disconnections
□ Fear
□ Guilt
□ Hopelessness
□ Hypervigilance

20. Self-Care Circles

21. Questions Thank You!!