1. Resilience: The Science of Hope | 2018 Ann Gaasch, Executive Director
Supporting Staff In Working With Families in Trauma
Resilience: The Science of Hope | Ann Gaasch, Executive Director

2. “At the start of my career - not just Me Too, which is not the totality of my career - I wish I would have known that you don’t have to sacrifice everything for a cause. And that self-care and self-preservation is also a tool that is necessary to do the work. It doesn’t make you more loyal to the cause or down for the movement if you sacrifice parts of yourself that you don’t want to.”
- Tarana Burke

3. Learning Objectives Participants will:
Identify the different stress disorders associated with working in families with trauma histories;
Distinguish burnout and secondary traumatic stress; and
Practice strategies associated with preventing stress

4. Introductions
Small Group Exercise

5. Choose one scenario
One of the staff members from your team comes in your office to hear if you have heard the news. One of the youth you have worked with has been arrested for assault.
One of your staff members is at their limit. They have reached out several times to the family about the learning difficulties of the child, but the mom is unresponsive. The child is acting out, and they think it is when the mom’s boyfriend stays over. They have called Child Protection, but nothing has happened.

6. With your partner, answer the following questions:
What policies and procedures does your agency have in place to deal with this scenario?
Who would you call first?
What support can you offer the team?
What do you do for yourself?

7. What Secondary Stress is not:
PTSD
Bad Day
Inability to see our impact
Personal issues

8. What it is Not, cont. Secondary trauma is not burnout.
Burnout is caused by increased workload and institutional stress
Happens over time
Time off or a change can remove or reduce it

9. Trauma by any other name…
Vicarious trauma
Compassion fatigue
Secondary trauma
Secondary victimization
STS is presence of PTSD symptoms caused by at least one indirect exposure to traumatic material.
Vicarious trauma focuses less on trauma symptoms and more on the covert cognitive changes that occur following cumulative exposure to another person’s traumatic material. The primary symptoms of vicarious trauma are disturbances in the professional’s cognitive frame of reference in the areas of trust, safety, control, esteem, and intimacy

10. What is Secondary Traumatic Stress?
Exposed indirectly to trauma through hearing about the firsthand trauma experiences of others
A cumulative response to working with many trauma survivors over an extended period of time,
Or it may result from reactions to a particular client’s traumatic experience.

11. Causes of Secondary Traumatic Stress
Facing the death of a child or adult family member on the worker’s caseload
Investigating a vicious abuse/neglect report
Frequent/chronic exposure to emotional and detailed accounts by children of traumatic events
Photographic images of horrific injuries or scenes of a recent serious injury or death
Continuing work with families in which serious maltreatment, domestic violence, or sexual abuse is occurring
Helping support grieving family members following a child abuse death, including siblings of a deceased child.

12. Causes of Secondary Traumatic Stress, cont.
Exposed to traumatic or life threatening events of their own
Intense verbal or physical assault by clients or community members

13. STS is exacerbated by: Feelings of professional isolation,
Frequent contact with traumatized people
Severity of the traumatic material
direct contact with victims,
exposure to graphic accounts, stories, photos, and things associated with extremely stressful events.
Dealing with the pain of children

14. Symptoms of STS Inability to face complexity
Avoidance of clients, inability to listen to clients
Increased fatigue or illness,
Social withdrawal,
Reduced productivity,
Feelings of hopelessness,
Despair

15. Symptoms of STS, cont. Nightmares,
Feelings of re-experiencing of the event, having unwanted thoughts or images of traumatic events,
Anxiety,
Excess vigilance,
Avoidance of people or activities, or
Persistent anger and sadness

16. Symptoms of STS, cont. Changes in feelings of safety,
Increased cynicism, and
Disconnection from coworkers and/or loved ones
Managing boundaries,
Dealing with their emotions
Have anxiety for their own children and irritability toward their colleagues and family.

17. How STS Affects Workplace
Higher rates of physical illness,
Great absenteeism,
Higher turnover,
Lower morale, and
Lower productivity.

18. Risk Factors High caseload demands, A personal history of trauma,
Limited access to supervision,
Lack of a supportive work environment, and/or
Lack of a supportive social network.

19. Prevention through Professional Strategies
Psychoeducation,
Balanced caseloads,
Accessible supervision,
Planned assignment rotation,
Access to peers,
Continuing education,
Access to new information

20. Prevention through Agency Strategies, cont.
Sufficient leave time,
Safe physical space,
Good supervision,
Destigmatize trauma reactions through organizational recognition or acknowledgement,
Promotes timely mental health support, and
Access to employee assistance program

21. Mental Health Days What are they? What are the pitfalls?
How can they be used effectively?

22. Prevention through Trauma-Informed Supervision
Safety
Trust and Transparency
Collaboration and Mutuality
Empowerment
Voice and Choice

23. Prevention through Trauma-Informed Supervision, cont.
Recognition of trauma diagnoses, symptoms and triggers (professionals trying to avoid re-experiencing their own emotions)
Recognition of re-traumatizing cultural practices
Behavior understood as adaptive coping

24. Things to watch out for…
Problems and symptoms are synonymous
Over emphasis on policies and rules
Absence of symptoms is primary goal
Safety and trust is taken for granted
Respond personally to others’ emotions

25. Prevention through Personal Strategies
Respecting your limits,
Taking time for self-care,
Teaming,
Venting v. Fomenting, and
Be wary of volunteering in a similar type of work

26. Personal Strategies

27. Reflective Supervision
Stepping back from work
Emotional content of the work
Professional’s responses as they affect interactions with clients
Safety, calmness, and support
Learning environment
Not therapy

28. Protective factors Self-nurturing Seeking connection
Social support network
Outside interests

29. Interventions Strategies to evaluate secondary stress
Cognitive behavioral interventions
Mindfulness training
Reflective supervision
Caseload adjustment
Informal gatherings following crisis events (to allow for voluntary, spontaneous discussions)
Change in job assignment or work group
Referrals to Employee Assistance Programs or outside agencies

30. Your Self Care Plan Evaluate your coping strategies.
What works for you?
What do you do that isn’t working so well?
What are the barriers to self-care?

31. Your Self Care Plan Domains of self care: physical, emotional,
spiritual,
professional,
social,
financial,
psychological

32. Your Self Care Plan What do you already do?
What two things do you want to try to add to your self-care practice?

33. Your Self Care Plan Emergency Self Care Relaxation Self-Talk
Social Support
Mood
Resilience

34. Your Self Care Plan My Daily Self Care Plan
Body, Mind, Spirit, Emotions, Relationship, Work
My Top Three Positive Coping Strategies
My Emergency Self Care Plan
What helps
What should I avoid?

35. Resources and References
National Child Traumatic Stress Network
NCTSN.org

36. Contact Information
Ann Gaasch
LinkedIn.com/in/AnnGaasch