debor016

Feeling safe is necessary for relationships, for fun, for relaxation, for sleep, for concentration, for verbal learning, in fact for daily living. I have quoted before the experiment in which baby rats in a cage were playing, and the experimenters introduced three cat hairs for ten minutes. All play stopped. When the cat hairs were removed, it was weeks before the play started again and it never resumed its previous levels. The kids we work with feel so unsafe. They are constantly on the lookout for the danger that has permeated every part of their lives. A central fact of their existence is that any small indication of danger sends them into full life-or-death alert mode. And the world is full of indications of danger. So how do we recognize this, make sense of it and work with it? How do we help our kids to feel safer? Allison talks often about feeling unsafe. And, in fact the other girls do pick on her and at times assault her. Allison comes out of her room and stands in the lounge ...

The actions of the agency administration will determine the success of a transformation to trauma informed care. The administration must truly understand and support this approach, or it will not have a chance. Staff are keenly attuned to what is actually expected and rewarded within an agency. Mere lip service will not convince them to make this difficult change. How can administrators demonstrate their support? First, they can arrange financing for training for all staff on trauma, how it affects people, and how they can heal through attuned relationships. Key members of the administration should attend at least a portion of trauma training themselves (vs. sending designees in their places). The agency must make provisions for the staff to attend the training and be released from their regular duties. Expectations are conveyed in many ways throughout an agency. Does the administration value control and lack of disruption more than anything else? Can the administration tolerate certai...

Picture Mallory sitting in the Main Lounge. She is a large sixteen year old girl in tight garish clothes. Next to her is an over turned couch. She is surrounded by glass from the window she just broke. Her legs are swathed in gauze bandages covering the cuts she just inflicted on them, and there is blood on the carpet. The wail of the fire alarm she pulled is giving voice to her pain. Her face is frozen. Everything we are doing is for you, Mallory. For you, who was abused by a relative repeatedly over five years. Your mother struggled with her own abuse history and depression, and has made several suicide attempts. She is not able to endure your pain, but she cares about you. She has advocated for you as you have travelled between treatment programs and hospitals. Because of the transformation we have made at our treatment center, someone is holding your hand. No one is talking to you about consequences. There is compassion and caring in the eyes of the staff who look at you. When you ...

Today I would like to ask for a consultation on a certain behavior- namely, taking off all one’s clothes. Davonte is 12 years old, and is small for his age. He has a history of extreme abuse, and has lived in 19 places. He exhibits many problem behaviors, such as aggression and threatening. However, one of the most common is taking off all his clothes and coming out of his room. He often makes statements about how great his body is and how he will someday be on magazine covers. Sometimes he will respond to and matter of fact directive to get dressed, other times that will lead to a full fledged meltdown. What is the adaptive function of this behavior? What does it communicate and/or accomplish? What needs does it meet? We see this behavior quite regularly, in boys and girls, in younger children and in adolescents. Often children take off all their clothes within a crisis, but other do so in every day times and when it is unexpected. Obviously this same behavior means different things t...