More Than Just Mans Best Friend

It is inevitable, people will experience trauma throughout their lives. Working through the trauma is important. One of the newest and growing areas to help people work through the trauma that they have experienced is the use of animals. Now this is not a new concept in the world, it even goes as far back as the 1700s when they were used in asylums. Matuszek, S. (2010, July). Animal-Facilitated Therapy in Various Patient Populations:... : Holistic Nursing Practice. Retrieved from https://journals.lww.com/hnpjournal/Fulltext/2010/07000/Animal_Facilitated_Therapy_in_Various_Patient.3.aspx.
When it comes to treating trauma with animals there are two different categories, Animal-assisted activities or “AAA” and animal-assisted therapy or “AAT”. Animal Therapy for PTSD. (2016, October 06). Retrieved from https://strengthtoheal.org/animal-therapy-for-ptsd/. When describing AAA, the dogs are used in casual activities that involve dogs being around people that are going through trauma. Animal Therapy for PTSD. (2016, October 06). Retrieved from https://strengthtoheal.org/animal-therapy-for-ptsd/. There is no target for people that take part in AAA, there are just events with animals for people going through trauma. (Animal Therapy for PTSD). While on the other hand AAT is a program to help people work through trauma with the assistance of a dog that has been trained and it is targeted to improve a person in the physical, social, emotional and/or cognitive functioning. (Animal Therapy for PTSD).
I think that animal based therapy could be extremely beneficial to people who have experienced serious trauma in their lives. One area that has seen some beneficial results is the interviewing of child victims in sexual assault cases. Walsh, D., Yamamo, M., Willits, N. H., & Hart, L. A. (2018, February 23). Job-Related Stress in Forensic Interviewers of Children with Use of Therapy Dogs Compared with Facility Dogs or No Dogs. Retrieved from https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fvets.2018.00046/full. Now the result is not just based on the children, but on the people, who have to conduct the interviews. (Walsh, 2018). Obviously this area is a very delicate subject to be discussing with children. So, anything that can help the kids relax and answer questions about a terrible experience in their life. In the study the 32 people that used dogs in their practice none of them reported that the dog was less helpful in their interviews than working without a dog. (Walsh, 2018).
Now the benefits of using animals to help with trauma experienced by people is not only beneficial for people working with children that are sexual assault victims. One of the other areas that has seen a benefit is veterans dealing with PTSD. Animal Therapy is Making Strides in the Treatment of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder |. (2011, December 19). Retrieved from https://www.elementsbehavioralhealth.com/trauma-ptsd/animal-therapy-ptsd-treatment/. There are a lot of veterans who deal with PTSD after they come back from overseas. These dogs help people express feelings and emotions as well as do things without using aggression.
These ideas to use animals especially dogs is something that should be used more and more. Speaking from personal experience when you come home and your dog is there and happy to see you it makes any bad day just a little bit better. Now, I have not been in combat or sexually assaulted, but working in the Public Defender’s Office in the domestic violence courtroom has created some more stress in my life. Having a dog would help bring that stress level down without having to do things like drink. Having another being that is relying upon you can make you forget about your own stresses.
At the end of the day dealing with trauma is a personal journey. There are some things that will work for people and some things that will not. The important part is that people who do go through a traumatic experience acknowledge that they are going through something and learn to work through it. I think that the use of animals is something that all people need to consider. I think that it is beneficial because you could have a service animal without it really having it known to everyone. Having issues is not something that everyone wants to have out in the open so having an animal that helps take care of those issues quietly is beneficial.

Animal Therapy for PTSD. (2016, October 06). Retrieved from https://strengthtoheal.org/animal-therapy-for-ptsd/
Animal Therapy is Making Strides in the Treatment of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder |. (2011, December 19). Retrieved from https://www.elementsbehavioralhealth.com/trauma-ptsd/animal-therapy-ptsd-treatment/.
Matuszek, S. (2010, July). Animal-Facilitated Therapy in Various Patient Populations:... : Holistic Nursing Practice. Retrieved from https://journals.lww.com/hnpjournal/Fulltext/2010/07000/Animal_Facilitated_Therapy_in_Various_Patient.3.aspx.
Walsh, D., Yamamo, M., Willits, N. H., & Hart, L. A. (2018, February 23). Job-Related Stress in Forensic Interviewers of Children with Use of Therapy Dogs Compared with Facility Dogs or No Dogs. Retrieved from https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fvets.2018.00046/full.

Teens and Trauma

Growing up, I was always around the topic of mental health. In the state of the North Carolina, my mother worked with individuals who suffered from mental health issues and helped them find jobs that properly fit them and their mental health status. My father owned a couple of group-homes for delinquent children who often found themselves in trouble with the law, school, and family. I did not pay much attention to my parents and their jobs at the time, but after taking this course a lot of memories of conversations, terms, and even people came back to me. 

Around my pre-teen years, my father owned and managed a group-home for troubled teenagers in the area. Soon after my father opened his first group-home he realized that these young men were not dangerous, harmful, or delinquent. He found them to be the opposite of that. He did mention that there is a barrier at first but once they trust in someone they are caring, helpful, respectful and fun to be around. Although these teens were able to behave for the majority of the time, they did suffer from PTSD. They had triggers and when they were triggered you could see the bad habits and emotions surface. My father was the only one could calm them down, and I believe its due to the fact that they trusted him and he knew how to reach them. Despite their short-comings when triggered, my father still had faith and trust in the young men. He trusted them enough to where he was comfortable bringing me around them to do small activities like play video games, or play basketball. Out of respect for my father they had a high level of respect for me as well. What made them like me, even more, was the fact that I was not rude, judgmental, or treated differently from them. My father treated us all the same; he treated us like we were people.

Basketball seemed to be the common ground for all of us and most importantly, a safe haven. My father made going to the gym to play basketball a reward for the boys. They had to do their homework before going, they had to behave fairly well in school, do their chores around the house, and make sure they were respectful and grateful for the opportunity to be able to go play basketball and of course, it was good exercise and fun for everyone. NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) of North Carolina would provide opportunities for the young men to participate in things outside of basketball like game nights, venting seminars, and therapy sessions; all in which the young men usually did not enjoy. In my opinion, the state provides these opportunities to actually help with the young men’s trauma issues. The young men typically did not know the people that were trying to help them very well, which led to a lack of trust, which led to the young men not engaging and listening to the therapist or activity at hand. 

The group-home keeps the young men out of trouble, helps them with school, helps them develop good habits, and allows them to be in their safe haven; doing what they love to do all with the guidance of an individual who truly cares about them. The group-home situation is great for the young men but there is one problem. The state ends funding for these young men at the age of 18, disallowing them to continue living in the group-home. At the age of 18, these young men end up moving back home. Home is where these young men were physically, sexually and verbally abused along with being traumatized by poverty, crime, and abandonment. I had the opportunity to interview Joe McCauley, owner and founder of a group-home in North Carolina, YouthExtension, to get some insight on how he feels about the cut off age. He stated, “I have seen numerous young men make progression throughout their time period in my [group-]homes, and when they turn 18 I really worry. They are released back into the wild where they starved, beaten up, cursed out, and got in trouble. Years of training these young men to do the right things and putting them in a safe environment goes down the drain as soon as they arrive back on their doorstep.” My father agrees with this statement and says he can do nothing but pray and hope the young men have changed their ways by the time they turn 18-years-old. When they are out on their own, they are not going to be able to go to their local gym and just play with friends. They have to pay to get in most indoor gyms, they are not protected by their group-home leader, and they could easily find themselves in trouble. All in which they did not have to worry about prior to being 18. After taking this course and understanding how PTSD works, there is not a lot of hope for these young men because they never overcame their trauma; the group-homes only pushed their trauma aside. Group-homes have trouble trying to help the young men face their trauma because they do not want the young men to feel uncomfortable, do not want to touch sensitive subjects, and they do not want to trigger them. Group-homes employees are not required to be therapists so, therefore, to keep the peace, they do the best they can with avoiding the mental issue of PTSD. 

After brainstorming I came up with an idea that I thought could work long-term for the young men for when they are in the group home and when they are 18 and have to be back home. The simple idea of planting came to mind. It is a skill that has to be learned and developed throughout time and experience. To further my idea, I did some research on the health effects of planting. Turns out there are a lot of positive effects for mental health that are useful especially for this group of young men. According to Psychology Today, there are 10 great reasons why planting is good for a person’s mental health, but there are five that stood out to me the most: 

1. “Looking after plants gives us responsibility" 
2. “Gardening allows us to be nurturers”
3. “Some aspects of gardening allow us to vent anger and aggression…”
4. “Working in nature releases happy hormones.”
5. “...whilst others [Gardening] allow us to feel in control”

These five statements listed are vital in a group-home young man’s life and could act as a form of CBT. If they are able to learn how to plant and have some enjoyment for it then they are a little better off than they would be without it. I asked Joe McCauley about the idea of his clients planting as an extra-curricular activity and he absolutely loved it. For his group-home, he could easily set-up a small garden in the back and provide each young man with their own section to plant. Another option for Joe McCauley and his group-home could be community gardens. Depending on the city, there are usually community gardens where the public is allowed to come and plant different things, which would be great for the young men to be able to get away from the house and be involved with the community. To push the idea even further I thought about how planting could benefit the young man outside of their mental health. There are plenty of job opportunities in the agricultural field. If they continue to learn about gardening and the science of it, they could not only grow their own foods and feed themselves, but they can also make a living out of it. Most importantly, this is a skill or opportunity they can take beyond the group-home that could be there safe haven or place of comfort.

Overall, I believe there is no ultimate answer to fix everything for these group-home young men. I also believe there are good intentions from both the group-home side and NAMI. The group-home is there to make these young men feel as comfortable as possible by placing them outside of the place of trauma, teaching them beneficial traits, and guiding them along the way. The best example of how a group-home fulfills these qualities is through basketball. Basketball was a reward which implemented structure and discipline, it is also a way the young men can have fun, exercise, compete, and bond. NAMI has more of the approach to help their PTSD. Providing therapists, and seminars are all in an attempt to help these young men face their trauma in hopes of overcoming it. Even though both branches have good intentions, these young men still end up heading down the wrong path because of their inability to function outside of their trauma in their home circumstances. These young men usually do not pursue higher education or find stable jobs, but find themselves in trouble with the law instead. Planting, however, will provide a skill set in which they can benefit from during their time at a group-home and beyond. In a perfect world, these young men could make a living out of the agricultural world, but the most important part of this skill is to help their mental illness as well as keeping them occupied, thinking, productive and out of trouble all as a form of cognitive behavioral therapy. Planting may not completely resolve their trauma, but it provides them with an activity that can allow them to make something of themselves and have a positive impact on the community. In my opinion everyone, even successful people, live with some type of trauma, whether it is something minor or major, but they made the best out of their situation; these young men can do the same. Again, planting may not cure their trauma, but it for sure can be the foundation to a life worth-while.

Works cited:

Rayner, S. (n.d.). Petal Power: Why Is Gardening So Good For Our Mental Health? Retrieved September 5, 2018, from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/worry-and-panic/201505/petal-power-why-is-gardening-so-good-our-mental-health

Joe McCauley, Founder of YouthExtension. Personal Interview

Debriefing post critical incidents

In the field of law Enforcement, we are no strangers to stress. Day in and day out we encounter calls to service that the common person truly can not understand at times. Officers patrol their beats and typically deal with individuals every single day who are having their WORST day. Anyone can look at that thought and understand that this job is stressful and could potentially be taking a toll on the individual. Individual, I believe that is a word that the public might forget when thinking of police. Behind the uniform and badge is a person who has thoughts, feelings and emotions just like everyone else.

An article from PoliceOne that I have recently reviewed titled, How critical incident stress debriefing teams help cops in crisis, made me think of how we as police officers help individuals day in and day out but seem to forget about some people. Those people our ourselves and our brother and sister officers. Time and time again after these critical incidents we typically never debrief about the situation in regards to emotions. Humor and get togethers like "choir practice" or drinking after work seems to be our release.

This is where the idea of Critical Response Teams come into play. My department for example has one, but it seems that these are only used for major incidents such as an officer involved shooting. Although those types of incidents are extremely critical, the monotonous grind of shift work can also take its toll. As stated by Mcgill, "The officers can take back control over their emotions and flashbacks that may be interfering with their lives, and they are forced to admit that they do not have total control over all situations. In addition, these debriefings can be used to educate family members of the normal reactions that may occur in the officers as their minds recover from a traumatic incident." (Mcgill 2015) We know how important this topic is. We need to begin to take care of ourselves now more than ever in today's society. It is an interesting time for Law enforcement and the men and women who carry out these duties not only need to worry about the public's well-being, but our own as well. 

https://www.policeone.com/health-fitness/articles/8554063-How-critical-incident-stress-debriefing-teams-help-cops-in-crisis/

Preventing vicarious trauma from leading to compassion fatigue in trauma workers.

Patrick Potter

08-14-18

Vicarious traumatization describes the pervasive changes that can occur within a trauma worker over time as a result of their intimate work with a traumatized population.  The changes in the workers can include change in self, spirituality, world views, interpersonal relationships, and overall behavior.  The common term used for suffers of this vicarious trauma experienced in their profession is compassion fatigue.   (Way, 2004) Its crucial to the well-being of the traumatized person that the trauma worker, no matter in what capacity doctor, clinician, police officer, or EMT, recognizes the symptoms of vicarious trauma and begins to resolve the symptoms to ensure that they are effective in handling the traumatized population that they are entrusted with.

Compassion fatigue compromises the trauma workers capabilities to care for persons who are victims of traumatic events.  Avoidance of the traumatized population, intrusive thoughts or dreams of distressing symptoms may affect the trauma worker facing compassion fatigue.  These symptoms may parallel the post traumatic stress symptoms that many of the traumatized clients they are dealing with are facing.    If the symptoms of compassion fatigue in their career field go unchecked and the trauma worker faces additional stress in the home environment burn out may occur.  Burn outs main symptoms are emotional exhaustion, sense of ineffectiveness, work dissatisfaction, detachment, sleep disorders, difficult concentrating, social withdrawal, poor judgment, and interpersonal conflicts.  (Gallagher, 2013) Compassion fatigue therefore revolves around the traumatized person and the trauma worker while burnout results from the stress of the trauma workers interaction with their environment.

When examining vicarious trauma and its effects on trauma workers its important to look at the constructivist self-development theory.   This theory suggests that individuals construct their realities through the development of cognitive structure or schemas.   Schemas include a trauma workers beliefs, assumptions, and expectations about themselves, others and the world.  These preconceived schemas are then used to interpret events and make sense of new experiences.   When new information, such as working with a recent trauma victim, is experienced and the new information gathered from the interaction is incompatible with the trauma workers original schemas they can become invalidated or shattered.   In this case the schemas must be modified to incorporate the new information into the workers belief system by a process of accommodation.   This accommodation to the new information can come in the form of both negative and positive accommodations.  Negative accommodation can lead to distress while positive accommodation to new experiences can lead to post traumatic growth.  If the trauma worker makes positive accommodations to the new experience they are having they may come out of their interaction with a new appreciation for their own good fortune and a strengthened sense of optimism.  The predictors of vicarious post traumatic growth are a higher level of coherence and empathy in the trauma worker as well as social support and organizational support surrounding them. (Cohen, 2012)

Trauma workers need to understand that they must be able to simultaneously monitor their own needs while also dealing with the emotions and needs of the families and subjects they are assisting through a crisis.  There are multiple strategies which may work in order to prevent compassion fatigue and lead to post traumatic growth in a trauma worker.   Some of these strategies for managing stress involved with dealing with emotionally demanding trauma include practicing mindfulness, making personal connections with the traumatized person, rewarding self after completing a task, shedding role when leaving work, utilization of team approach for support, knowing limits, learning from experience, relieving stress through exercise, reflective writing, and developing a special place where you can get away.  (Gallagher, 2013)

Vicarious traumatization is a process that requires continual self-assessment and monitoring by the trauma worker themselves.  Organizational support should also be available to assist in both prevention of vicarious trauma in the first place and intervention when needed.  Education provided to trauma workers should identify that vicarious trauma is a normal response to working with traumatized populations.   By identifying strong self-care strategies and being able to depend on assistance at the organizational level trauma workers will be able to avoid negative accommodations from their interactions with trauma victims and even experience post traumatic growth.

References:

Cohen, Keren. Et. Al. (2012) The Impact of Trauma Work on Trauma Workers: A Metasynthesis on Vicarious Trauma and Vicarious Post Traumatic Growth.  American Phycological Association.

Gallagher, Romayne (2013) Compassion Fatigue. Canadian Family Physician.

Way, Ineke. (2004) Vicarious Trauma: A Comparison of Clinicans who Treat Survivors of Sexual Abuse and Sexual Offenders.  Sage Publications

Prison Dog Training Programs Rehabilitate Canines and Cons

Before I even began my schooling for Criminal Justice my passion was dog training, rescuing dogs and giving them a purpose. I have spent years in training courses to learn how to become a better prepared and well-rounded trainer for all dogs and I have worked side by side with many breeds for different purposes. Throughout this course a great topic we have focused on is self-care, and I realized that training dogs is where I keep myself grounded, it is my stress relief, my passion, and my therapy. And I knew that if this was something that was so therapeutic for me, then it must somehow be incorporated into the criminal justice and/or mental health fields. As we have learned so far, service dogs play a huge part in certain therapy approaches; for people with anxiety, depression, and especially PTSD. Now what about in criminal justice? Animals in general, not just dogs; show us love and compassion endlessly, they do not judge or learn hate-they teach us to put something before ourselves because simply their lives depend on us.

Omaha Correctional Center partnered with a local animal shelter that allows the prisons inmates to foster hundreds of dogs as part of their Canine Compassion Program. Even though each program has its own personal details, the basics remain the same. Dogs with behavioral issues who are not quite ready to be adopted are sent to live in a cell with the caretaker. For anytime up to 16 weeks, the inmates are responsible for walking, feeding and playing with their dogs. The inmates will also take part in formal obedience training classes, where they teach their dogs the basic commands. In order to take part in the program, the inmates have to exhibit good behavior for at least one year prior, as well keep up good behavior during the duration of the program. One inmate shared that he likes the challenge of training the dogs and working through the harder classes. It keeps him occupied and gives him a purpose during the day to work harder with his animal. A lot fo the individuals interviewed shared that they enjoy the challenge because they like the feeling of not giving up, and proving to their dogs that they can succeed. “The dogs have brought humanity into this prison setting.” Liebson, R. (2018, June 13).

Animal programs within prisons have been gaining traction in the past few years, especially from the beginning of this idea which started in 1925. “Across the country, prisons and animal shelters are forming partnerships that put inmates in charge of training unruly dogs, giving both parties a chance at a fresh start.” Liebson, R. (2018, June 13). Carol Byrnes is a professional dog trainer and volunteers with local shelters to lead obedience classes for the inmates and the dogs. She goes on to say that many of the dogs come from high kill shelters, and it ca be a life or death situation for the dogs that are allowed to come to the prisons. And this is where the beauty of the relationship between the inmates and the dogs are formed. They both have the sense of being given one last chance-they work together for a brighter future. The inmates create such a powerful bond with the dogs, they know it is there responsibility to train them in such a way that they will succeed beyond the four walls of the prison. Byrnes was initially hesitant to get involved, but she developed a passion for the program after seeing the transformative effect it had on participants, both human and canine. For inmates and dogs who start off as distant or hard to reach, “as the program progresses, they open up, they blossom, they gain confidence, they gain social skills and the ability to problem solve and negotiate difficulties,” she said.

One of the officers who oversees a different program in New Mexico State Correctional Facility, PAWS which is Prisoners and Animals Working Toward Success Program said, it has helped the inmates correct some of the behaviors that may have landed them in jail in the first place. “The men in our pods have created so much loss, not only in their lives but in their families’ lives and lots of victims’ lives,” she said. “These dogs have really shown them compassion for other living things. Empathy.” Kimberly Collica-Cox, who is an associate professor of criminal justice at Pace University in New York, has studied how the symbiotic relationship between humans and dogs can be useful in prisons. Collica-Cox helped develop a program through Pace that uses animal assisted therapy to teach incarcerated mothers better parenting skills. “What we find is that dogs can trigger feelings of safety in humans, which will allow them to sort of open up and communicate more, which can be very helpful in a correctional setting,” she said, adding that there’s a great deal of research to support these findings. This is such a powerful aspect to research, a big problem in prisons today, especially all women facilities is that some women come into prison pregnant and give birth while serving their sentence. So, they ultimately miss out on either the first months or even years of their children’s lives, which can make them feel inadequate as a parent-especially if someone else has had a helping hand in raising their children while they were away. These programs can tech them motherly skills, compassion, nurturing and so much more.

These dog and prisoner programs can be life changing, not only for the dogs, but the prisoners and the families that adopt these dogs down the line. Paws for Life is a program in Lancaster, California at one of their maximum-security prisons; where these inmates go through extensive interviews to be able to participate in the program-they also have to write an essay on why they believe they should be a candidate. And a few of their messages were extremely powerful and I thought it would be a good way to end this.

“I know some people in society may think that we as prisoners don’t have anything good left in ourselves or have redeemable qualities, or be allowed any goodness in our lives; however contrary to that thinking I know in my heart this to be the opposite. Having someone to even suggest that we as prisoners would be good candidates for the Karma Rescue (Paws for Life program) demonstrates my beliefs that we have much left yet to offer society even if we potentially will never again be a part of that society.”

My reason for wanting to be a part of Paws for Life is simple. For most of my life I lived a very selfish lifestyle which led me to prison. I see Paws for Life as a chance to save a dog’s life. I understand what it’s like to be caged up. Also, I know this could be a lifesaving program for these dogs. Plus, Paws for Life gives me the chance to give back, to do something for someone else, to give back to a society that I cheated ... I do understand that a dog trained is a dog that’s ready to be adopted, and a dog adopted is a life saved, and changed! — Travielle

I have been locked up for over twenty-two years...The biggest reason why I want to help care for, feed, train and love the dogs; I want to be a part of giving someone something that will always love them and be there for them always. A person can give as much money the he or she has to charity or person, but no amount of money can love a person or go fetch a child’s favorite toy or teddy bear. Please allow me to give a person more than words or money. — Oliver

- Fitzgerald, D. P. (2017, December 07)

And a few closing comments after the certification graduation ceremony:

Jon: “Everything has improved in my life. This program has given our hearts a chance to heal, has restored my faith in humanity. It’s made me feel like a human being, given me self worth again, that I had the ability to give back, brought me closer to my bros that I train with. We worked really hard day and night to make this happen. Every bit of this program has been an honor to be a part of.”

 John M.: “This program has saved my life. It’s pretty simple. I have been in prison for twenty plus years...The Paws for Life program came along with Karma and all of a sudden I can love again. I can feel love. I can experience emotions that I have been holding down for twenty plus years...I sleep better at night, I’m more able to speak with people, I’m a little bit more literate. All of this comes from having a dog.”

 References

Fitzgerald, D. P. (2017, December 07). Who Rescued Whom? Shelter Dogs and Prison Inmates Give Each Other a New 'Leash' on Life. Retrieved from https://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-patricia-fitzgerald/who-rescued-who-shelter-dogs-and-prison-inmates-give-each-other-a-new-leash-on-life_b_5760042.html

Liebson, R. (2018, June 13). Prison Dog Training Programs Rehabilitate Canines and Cons. Retrieved from https://www.cleartheshelters.com/Prison-Pup-Programs-Give-Inmates-and-Shelter-Dogs-a-Second-Chance-437660633.html

Rousseau, D. (2018). Module 4: Pathways to Recovery: Understanding Approaches to Trauma Treatment. [Lecture Notes] Retrieved from https://onlinecampus.bu.edu/webapps/blackboard/execute/displayLearningUnit?course_id=_48015_1&content_id=_5919976_1&framesetWrapped=true

Van der Kolk, B. A. (2015). The body keeps the score: Brain, mind, and body in the healing of trauma. New York, NY: Penguin Books.

Undocumented Children

Trauma exists all over the world from the youngest to the oldest person alive. However, children are more vulnerable to trauma because of their size, age, and dependency. (Rousseau, 2018) My focus is not just on the 25% of United States children who suffer trauma before their 16^th birthday however, but on the more than 2,000 children who were currently separated from their parents, the children known in the United States of America as undocumented children. The more than 2,000 kids who had no choice but to follow their parents seeking a better life and now face lifelong battles of mental health issues, the children who I strongly opposed being separated from their parents.

These children were separated from days to weeks from their parents and kept in a jail like setting surrounded by other children and guards. Working at a jail, I cannot begin to phantom a child being in a place that looks anything like a jail much less many of them together with minimum supervision and absolutely no love and affection. Stories have unfolded that some kids were given medication for mental health problems when many of them could not even speak; others were given shots to calm them down. Such is the story of a 5-year-old Guatemalan born child named Adonis.

Adonis lasted ten weeks in what he now calls “kid jail.” Six days after being released to his father, Adonis was already showing signs of mental health issues. Adonis showed emotional distress when a toy syringe was showed to him and commented that he would get a shot when he misbehaved that would put him to sleep. At five years old, Adonis has a lot of vaccines to go, the trauma he has suffered from this will show every time he receives a shot. Also, Adonis has now found a “newfound fascination for knives and machetes” and constantly displays anger and wants to be isolated from everyone including his family. At only age five, if left untreated, Adonis could end up with lifelong problems or suicide.

The problem with all this, the United States of America is not providing any sort of mental help for these children. Why? Is the question, if we separated them from their parents? I understand their parents came here illegally, but does any child deserve to be separated from their parents and placed in jail for weeks at a time? The answer is no. We need to take care of these children, make sure they get the necessary care for what they have experienced.

Many lawyers are currently fighting for this to happen and a lot of psychologists and doctors are offering their services pro bono. However, the United States of America isn’t doing anything about it even though they didn’t meet the reunification deadline and are the reason these children will now face problems. I am a strong believer that we as a nation need to do more to ensure that these children receive mental health care until they get mentally better. Why? Simply because it is the humanitarian thing to do and I would hate to see one of those children turn around and create mass destruction in the United States in a few years out of anger and range.

References:

Rousseau, D. (2018). Week 2 Lecture. PDF Copy.  Boston University, Boston MA. Online Campus Blackboard.

Wan, W. 20 June 2018. The trauma of separation lingers long after children are reunited with parents. Retrieved 12 Aug 2018 from the Washington Post:  https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/the-trauma-of-separation-lingers-long-after-children-are-reunited-with-parents/2018/06/20/cf693440-74c6-11e8-b4b7-308400242c2e_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.c42e0a331f75

Miller, M. 9 August 2018. “I want to die”; Was a 5-year-old drugged after being separated from his dad at the border? Retrieved 10 Aug 2018 from the Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/i-want-to-die-was-a-5-year-old-drugged-after-being-separated-from-his-dad-at-the-border/2018/08/08/df4cc2aa-95e1-11e8-a679-b09212fb69c2_story.html?utm_term=.21d8d4f9139f

Gomez, A. 12 July 2018 . ACLU: Trump administration should pay counseling for separated families. Retrieved 12 Aug 2018 from USA Today: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2018/07/12/aclu-requests-trump-administration-pay-counseling-separated-families/780833002/

Self Care To Release Police Officer Stress

It always seems like a silly question when people ask "Do you take care of yourself". Of course the answer is going to be "yes, I do". But, when people ask you "What do you do to take care of yourself" is where people seem to hit a wall and not know what to say.

Self care can be defined as "any activity that we do deliberately in order to take care of our mental, emotional, and physical health. Although it’s a simple concept in theory, it’s something we very often overlook. Good self-care is key to improved mood and reduced anxiety. It’s also key to a good relationship with oneself and others." (psychcentral.com). One key thing to note is that self care is not something that you need to force yourself to do. It should give you pure enjoyment and should relax you from day to day stresses. 

It is no surprise that there is no shortage of stressful or traumatic situations when it comes to law enforcement. This could be things that they encounter on a daily basis, or things that are exaggerated by the news media outlets and social media. This causes police officers to be tired, stressed out and burned out constantly. This is where self care would come into play. Lexipol, which is a policy management software for public safety, has come up with a list of many ways that we can see police officers getting stressed or burned out. Some of these examples include: "

• Isolation and withdrawal
• Being disengaged or unmotivated
• Physical exhaustion
• Nightmares and flashbacks
• Poor hygiene or apathy about one’s physical appearance
• Loss of empathy or compassion
• Relationship issues, including divorce
• Substance misuse and abuse
• Recurrent sadness or depression
• Resistance to feedback
• Resistance to change
• Reduction in meaningful work product
• Reduced job satisfaction
• Increase in citizen complaints" (lexipol.com)

There are a few self care tools that police officers can put into effect that would help them manage their stress and burn out. One of these self care tools is to have a life outside of law enforcement. This includes making sure that they make time for their friends, family, children and significant others. They should not let work consume their lives by thinking about what happened during the work day when they clock out from their shifts. It could also be something as simple as doing an activity that they enjoy doing such as hiking, biking, running, swimming, working out, etc. Another self care tool they could implement is developing good physical health habits. This includes things like eating a balanced meal, making sure they get enough sleep and not just getting their physical activity during the work hours. A final tool they could use is practicing meditation and mindfulness. I do not work in law enforcement currently and I use meditation and mindfulness to decompress from my long school days at work.

In conclusion, there are many ways that police officers could practice self care to decompress from their stressful and sometimes traumatic work days. Using these tips and tools would be beneficial for them both inside and outside the work place because they will feel more relaxed and not as stressed out, burned out, or tired all the time.

The challenges of Returning Home

Military veterans face a lot of challenges when coming home stateside.  Some of these challenges include adjusting to civilian life and family life.  At the same time the veteran’s family may need to readjust their live to a veteran whose life has greatly changed.  Other challenges may include returning to work or finding a new job.

Military veterans were asked to sacrifice having a normal live and sometimes asked to sacrifice their lives for this country.  Our country has often failed our servicemen and women when coming home and trying to adjust to normal life.

Since 2013, the Center for Innovation and Research on Veterans and Military Families (CIR) at the USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work has conducted studies of military populations in various areas throughout the United States to identify common challenges that veterans face as they transition out of the military.  Although individual populations may fare better with specific challenges, overall trends show that moving into civilian life continues to be difficult regardless of location.  (MSW, USC)

Some common challenges military veterans face include but are certainly not limited to a culture change, the military has a very specific and unique culture, almost always extremely different than that of the civilian culture.  Some veterans speak of having culture shock when returning home and attempting to adjust to civilian life, including home life and work life.  Some veterans report feeling isolated from their civilian friends, family, and co-workers.  They also find it difficult to become friends with civilians or remain friends with non-soldiers, as they lack the same experience and talking points.  Furthermore, civilians often ask inappropriate questions such as “have you ever killed anyone?” which could trigger flashbacks, whereas, a conversation with someone who has been through the same situations can be calming and easing.  For some the military is more than just a job and is seen as a way of life.  They are unable to separate the military and the non-military life.

Briand Ketcham

 https://msw.usc.edu/mswusc-blog/transitioning-out-of-the-military/

Common Challenges During Readjustment to Civilian Life

Trauma Informed Schools

I posted earlier in the course about an elementary school in Nashville, TN called Fall-Hamilton Elementary School that uses trauma informed practices in its school. The treatment and Services Adaptation Center defines a trauma informed school as one that "adults in the community are prepared to recognize and respond to those who have been impacted by traumatic stress." The goal of these schools is to provide tools and techniques to cope with stress and to also create a culture of respect and support. By providing individuals with ways to deal with stressful situations and by instilling an environment where mental health is not perceived as a weakness, these schools are removing the stigma of mental health and instead normalizing it. Trauma informed schools are teaching kids from a young age that everyone experiences stress and that it is good for you to seek help which, on a large scale, is laying the ground work for a positive shift in how our society views mental health.

Trauma informed practices are gaining popularity as Fall-Hamilton Elementary School and others show how these practices improve the students, faculty, and overall school. A study by Vanessa Sacks and David Murphey on adverse childhood experiences found that 45% of children in the United States have experienced at least one ACE and that 10% have experienced three or more ACEs. The rate in Nashville is higher than the national average coming in at 60% of children experiencing at least one adverse childhood experience.

Fall-Hamilton has implemented trauma informed practices that not only benefit the students but also benefit the faculty and staff. One of the first steps the school took was that they hired a full-time trauma-informed practitioner who works with the students and faculty to bring awareness to adverse childhood experiences and what steps to take to help deal with these stressful events. The school has also implemented leadership classes where they teach leadership to children starting in kindergarten and allow students to become leaders in the school by teaching others in various activities and clubs.

Fall-Hamilton has also taken sensory information into account in their trauma informed practices. Many of the classrooms have dimmer lights with calming colors and utilize essential oil diffusers to create a more calming, relaxing, and safer environment.  Classrooms also have what they call "peace corners" which is a place where students can go when they feel emotionally overwhelmed. In these peace corners students are able to utilize self care by gathering their thoughts and composing themselves so they are able to return back to class in a better state of mind that allows them to learn with minimal distractions.

The school also encourages self care for their faculty and staff. They utilize a strategy that they call tap in / tap out where at any time a teacher or staff member can reach out to any other faculty member and get someone to cover their class for them or to simply give them a couple of minutes to step out and recharge. This strategy to me has the most impact on the children because if they faculty and staff are not taken care of then how are they expected to take care of these children.

Fall-Hamilton elementary school has seen many positive outcomes of the trauma informed practices by reducing referrals by 76% and outperforming peer school on English language arts testing. The students have responded well to the new practices as 98% of students report that they feel an adult at school cares about them.

The approaches of Fall-Hamilton are proving that trauma informed practices that are implemented correctly have a dramatic positive impact on children. This school understands that all of these children's issues and problems are not left behind once they walk in the front door. Often children this young know they are experiencing trauma but do not have the ability to properly deal with their trauma, and overtime their untreated trauma can compound and cause a significant amount of long-term damage. Trauma informed schools are not only helping children deal with their current adverse experiences but are also teaching students various techniques that will help them cope with adverse experiences that they may deal with in the future.

I have added the full video of Fall-Hamilton Elementary School below.

References:

https://traumaawareschools.org/traumaInSchools

The prevalence of adverse childhood experiences, nationally, by state, and by race or ethnicity

Implementing ACEs in Schools

The Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE) study should be conducted in schools to prevent future trauma but also as an intervention tool to help children cope and to avoid re-traumatization. It could also prevent children with disruptive behaviors as simply being labeled  ‘problem children’ or change how the school handles such behaviors. Having a better understanding of each individual child can create profound relationships, trust, and help the school become more effective in teaching students. Finkel (2014) explains advantages of ACEs as “primary prevention efforts such as education of parents about how to encourage a child’s brain development, ensuring that health professionals are screening for ACEs at periodic intervals during childhood, and educating school personnel on the signs and symptoms of ACEs, as well as the fact that maladaptive, antisocial behaviors often stem from them”.

Schools taking this initiative would not only affect how children learn, behave and cope but it’s impact will stay long past the school experience. Children with high ACE scores are much more likely to engage in criminal behavior and/or abuse drugs. This intervention could save many lives and decrease crime amongst youth. Most importantly this test would show students that they are cared about. Many children living in trauma prone or negative home lives have no one they can rely on. A child who feels important to another person can make a long-lasting positive impact on their lives and how they behave. If nothing else, the results will give the school a guideline on how to support them and that in itself is more than worth it.

Reference

Finkel, E. (2014). “Florida Study Confirms Link Between Juvenile Offenders, ACEs; Rates Much Than CDC’s ACE Study”. Retrieved from https://acestoohigh.com/2014/08/20/ florida-study-confirms-link-between-juvenile-offenders-aces-rates-much-higher-than-cdcs-ace-study/