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Half the House

In one of my previous discussion posts, I briefly mentioned Richard Hoffman's memoir, Half the House.  The book's intention was not to discuss the trauma Hoffman suffered from in his early life, but rather to tell a story about a family.  Throughout his memoir, you pick up on multiple traumas he suffered in his childhood which would later cause him to suffer from depression, anxiety and substance abuse issues.  I believe that each of the traumas Hoffman suffered from allowed for more trauma to occur.  For example, his father was abusive to him and his brothers - often coming home angered and intoxicated and beating the boys for things they could not control.  Additionally, a few years later, two of his younger brothers (one who was his best friend) were diagnosed with and dying from muscular dystrophy.  His mother devoted the remainder of her life two his dying brothers and Richard was essentially left to fend for himself.  He shortly found himself in the hands of his football coach, who continuously manipulated, raped and abused Hoffman at the young age of ten.  It is known that child molesters tend to target children who do not have a stable life at home and who are likely in need of attention.  These children will not want to tell their family of the abuse that has occurred as they have enough to worry about in the first place.  Though unintentional, Hoffman's life story is an excellent example of how children fall subject to these kinds of abuses and traumas.  In his collegiate years, Richard Hoffman began abusing alcohol; however, not the same alcohol abuse expected of most college kids.  Hoffman wasn't binge drinking at parties to hang out and socialize with friends.  Instead he was binge drinking and doing drugs to block out his early life experiences.  He soon became an alcoholic and experiences episodes of suicidal thoughts and attempts.

Hoffman's memoir and life story is an important reminder of why we need to be careful and cautious when dealing with the lives of children.  Young individuals who face difficulties like substance abuse and physical abuse may be more at risk to later suffering from other traumatic experiences.  They become more susceptible to others kinds of abuse and often slip through the cracks.  It is important for school teachers and professionals to keep up to date with young students and assure that they are doing okay both at school and at home.  Additionally, it is essential that children have someone they are comfortable with to disclose certain information to so that they don't bottle up their emotions and cause additional damages to their psyche.  Young children are in their prime developmental stages when such abuses take place, and if there is not an outlet for them to release the occurred trauma, they will only suffer even more down the line.

I highly suggest everyone read Richard Hoffman's memoir if you have an opportunity to.  It is a short and easy yet excellent read.  I was fortunate enough to have Richard Hoffman as a guest speaker in one of my classes and he is an even more incredible man in person.  He is also a wonderful example, today, of how survivors of trauma can overcome their experiences and create a life worth living.  Today he is sober, has a wife and two children, and is an amazing author and poet.  Trauma will only kill a person if they allow it to, and Hoffman is proof that it does not need to and people can eventually move past their experiences.

Hoffman, R. (2015). Half the house: 2015 anniversary edition. Moorhead, MN: New Rivers Press.

Names would never hurt me?

Background

In reviewing topics for this blog, I engaged a much younger audience in the conversation about gender and identity. Born in the late 1960s I can’t say that the issue of name calling has never come up. I would like to think that we dealt with it differently and that we outgrew the pain and confusion it caused. However, in preparing this blog I found that this was not the case. My understanding of how traumatic the issue of name calling and verbal abuse was for men, women and children was truly limited.

When did this topic get so complicated? Or did I get stuck in the mud as the world moved by me? Growing up I often heard the rhyme “sticks and stones may break my bones but names would never hurt me” this is the foundation that name calling in my social circle would be built on. When did it all change? Did my generation just ignore the pain experienced by those being verbally assaulted? Did global crises create a more conscious and sensitive society?

Child and Adolescent Trauma

Dr. Rousseau (2017) describes trauma as “an inescapably stressful event that overwhelms people’s existing coping mechanisms”. This fits my understanding of that old nursery rhyme, “sticks and stones”. As a young man, I could escape the name calling by one of two options 1) return the name calling with another just as demeaning or 2) just walk away saying “sticks and stones ….”. That event, as stressful as it appeared never developed into something that was inescapable.

In a presentation by Lynn Smithwick (2017) the topic of child and adolescent trauma was discussed. An example was provided from the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors defining trauma as “the experience of violence and victimization including sexual abuse, physical abuse, severe neglect, loss, domestic violence and/or the witnessing of violence, terrorism or disasters” (Smithwick, 2017). Are today’s children being exposed to more trauma than ever before? Have the events of September 11, 2001 impacted our current young adult population to the point that name calling and bullying has reached its boiling point? Did this overwhelming and tragic event exceed our coping mechanisms? For many it indeed appears to have changed their outlook on life, others have become numb to the violence and terrorism.

Trauma can occur by being exposed to several events. Among them are disasters, witnessing violence and/or emotional abuse (Smithwick, 2017). These events and the experiences can occur in a single event or over a period. Most importantly trauma is not something that discriminates it affects and impacts people from all walks of life and income levels.

Identity

Has identity and self-expression become a source of traumatic experience for individuals? Across college campuses there is an effort to change the way we use and choose our words for self-identification. To take it one step further there are efforts to create a non-gender based form of thinking. Boston University added a gender-neutral housing option for upper-class students beginning in the fall 2013. Salem State University has created a gender inclusive housing process for students. Each example is geared toward creating a more tolerant and accepting environment.

The gender identity and gender expression process I would imagine can be a source of stress for those that feel out of place with the societal expression of self and for those that are required to learn a new form of expression. The website www.mypronouns.org offers a new look into self-identity using personal pronouns. For example, there are additional sets of pronouns that some people might use (e.g. ze/zir, per/pers, ey/em, xe/xem, etc.). I would like to incorporate a more gender-neutral form of expression, however it is very stressful trying to understand the process.

Sticks and stones may break my bones but names are now confusing me....

References

Rousseau, PhD. LMHC, D. (2017). Violence and Trauma [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from lecture notes.
Smithwick, L. (2017) Child and Adolescent Trauma [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from lecture notes.

Taking care of yourself …

Fact Sheet 9 - Vicarious Trauma

Hello All,

Throughout our course and throughout the discussions around trauma we have to remind ourselves of wellness and self care.

With the Personalized Approaches to Self Care I wanted to also add a very good 'fact sheet' on  vicarious trauma   ( also called compassion fatigue).

Best,

Lynn

Dr. Stephanie Covington and Dr. Barbara Bloom

Pre-Conference_Drs Bloom & Covington_Rethinking Evidence-Based Practice for Women and Girls_101109

Hello Everyone,

I am quite passionate about working with at risk girls.    During my career as an administrator I was fortunate to attend many conferences specific to justice for women and girls.   Two pioneers in the field ( Covington and Bloom) presented many workshops.   I was honored at one of the conferences to spend a long break and over tea talk with these amazing women.

I will add more to this blog regarding the work being done with trauma through the lens of women and girls.

Attached is  a powerpoint from one of the conferences I just mentioned.

Lynn