Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 31, Number 1, 1 January 2014 — Building trauma literacy, resourcing and engaging community proctitioners [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Building trauma literacy, resourcing and engaging community proctitioners

Trustee's note: Dr. Wendy Wood of The Kanma Project contributed to this pieee. When we t h i n k a b o u t o u r ancestors, work in our communities and love our families, we are often seeking ways to guide

our lives in light of conscious and unconscious trauma. Confucius reminded us of the ways in whieh our experiences shape our knowing and, in turn, our ways of engaging in the world. "By three methods we may learn Wisdom. First is by rellection, whieh is the noblest; second, by imitation, whieh is easiest; and third, by experience, whieh is the bitterest."

At this point in our history, there seems to be a need for us to deeply understand how historieal, cultural, community, environmental and family exposure to trauma, violenee and oppression plays a significant role in our families, our eommunities and the systems that are designed to support us. We need to understand

what is required to build resilience rather than vulnerability across all domains of our lives. We need to bring resources to bear for our families as well as those who are in the helping professions, working in systems that are themselves potentially traumatizing and harmful. īhink of the challenges faced every day by those who work in the judicial system, child protection

system, our family violence intervention programs and our veterans programs, to name a few. Despite honorable intentions, unfortunately the systems that our society has developed to help often continue to fill our lives with neglect, unpredictability, fear and chaos. So what helps? Building our trauma literacy is one way to take our experiences and "learn Wisdom." Trauma literacy refers to understanding the basic neuro-developmental meehanisms associated with trauma; understanding principles and practices that prevent or minimize the impact of trauma; and designing and implementing approaches and practices that improve the heahh and welfare of individuals, communities and systems. This perspective is not specific to one model of elinieal care, community development or conflict management - and is intended to integrate into a variety of theoretical models and diverse cultural contexts.

This approach provides a way of anticipating and preparing, recognizing and responding, and making meaning of the effects of trauma in individuals, groups and eommunities. Trauma literacy is primarily psycho-educational in nature and involves a process of collaborative dialogue. The goal is to "talk story" and facilitate an elicitive, narrative and experiential exchange of knowledge and practices in order to identify ways of working that are culturally and socially relevant and appropriate. Increased awareness throughout our communities is a key element in bringing about change where change is needed. It has broad applicability, ean be adapted to meet the needs of many different populations and results in widespread increased understanding of the importance of our individual and collective experienee. Those who bear witness to the suffering of others and are empathically engaged with victims

of trauma may heeome traumatized to a degree themselves. The importance of building trauma literacy and addressing secondary or vicarious trauma among those who work in the realms of social justice and human services cannot be overstated. Unaddressed secondary trauma is strongly implicated in the further traumatization of vulnerable populations and is linked to negative outcomes for individuals, communities and systems. It also undermines the success of programs and interventions. Along with "learning wisdom," we must look to our cultural and spiritual healing modalities ... our "best practices"... as well as evidence-based and promising techniques for healing. Using a collaborative approach we ean take an active role in our individual and collective healing process, build the capacity to make healthy choices and transform and enhanee our daily life and the future of our children. ■

j LEO 'ELELE ^ > TRUSTEE MESSSAGES f

Rūbert K. Lindsey, Jr. Trustee, Hawai'i