Lesson 9: Safety, Remembrance, and Mourning


Attention

Trauma can affect all aspects of a persons life and for many it can be a long road to recovery.


Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of this lesson's material, students will be able to:

  • Discuss the relationship between "safety" and a sense of "personal control"
  • Identify the role that "personal control" plays in your own professional role and behavior

Teaching

Read Chapter 8: Safety in Hermon

Read Chapter 9: Rememberance and Mourning in Hermon

Safety

Helping survivors of trauma feel safe again in their environment is a process.

Here is an article about why PTSD survivors don't feel safe: http://www.giftfromwithin.org/html/Why-Dont-PTSD-Survivors-Feel-Safe.html

Read this powerpoint about trauma and how you can help someone re-establish the feeling of safety: Establishing_safety_v2

Rememberance & Mourning

According to Judith Hermon, who wrote the book Trauma and Recovery, during the stage of remembrance and mourning an individual is reviewing painful memories and starting to talk about them. The goal is to reduce their emotional intensity and change the effect those memories are having on an individuals life and sense of self. This is also a time to grieve for losses the person has experienced due to the trauma. For example a person with a child abuse history may be grieving not having the childhood they had always wished for. There may be a sense the abuse "stole" their childhood from them. As we explore the idea of rememberance and mourning based on Hermon's book read these two brief summaries of her theory of trauma:

https://1in6.org/men/get-information/online-readings/recovery-and-therapy/stages-of-recovery/judith-hermans-stages-of-recovery/

http://trauma-recovery.ca/recovery/phases-of-trauma-recovery/


Assessment

Lesson 9 Discussion (for online couse only)

From the information in this lesson and any additional reading/research you would like to do please discuss the interrelationship between a sense of safety and the past experience of trauma. Why is this so difficult for individuals who have a trauma history?

Feel free to examine Control Theory on the importance of a personal sense of control. Start with this article (Control_Theory.asp) then feel free to search the web for additional information. [Article can be found in KVCC online EBSCO Library: Mansell, W. (2005). Control theory and psychopathology: An integrative approach. Psychology & Psychotherapy: Theory, Research & Practice78(2), 141-178).

Lesson 9 Quiz

1) Based upon the reading and your own experience, relate your own "issues" related to control and how these may help or hinder your work in the mental health field.