Trauma-informed services and trauma-specific care for Indigenous Australian children

This paper examines how childhood trauma experienced by Indigenous children can be overcome by appropriate interventions.IntroductionWhile many Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australian children grow up in safe homes and live in safe communities, there are some who do not. In the case of Indigenous children, some families and communities are unable to, or are still working to, heal the trauma of past events, including displacement from Country, institutionalisation and abuse. The Stolen Generations also represent a significant cause of trauma. In 2008, an estimated 8% of Indigenous people aged 15 and over reported being removed from their natural family and 38% had relatives who had been removed from their natural family. This trauma can pass to children (inter-generational trauma).Indigenous children may also experience a range of distressing life events including illness and accidents, hospitalisation or death of close family members, exposure to violence, family disintegration (with kin networks fragmented due to forced removals, relationship breakdown and possibly incarceration) and financial stress.Experiencing trauma in childhood can have severe and long-lasting effects; effects that can be overcome by appropriate interventions. This resource sheet examines these effects and explores how they can be tackled. It focuses on the design and delivery of trauma-informed and trauma-specific children’s services and care

Healing the Hurt: Trauma-Informed Approaches to the Health of Boys and Young Men of Color

From discrimination and poverty to alcoholism and assault, trauma in its varied forms plays a major part in the lives of Latino and African-American boys and young men. This paper outlines the ways in which violence prevention, family support, health care, foster care, and juvenile justice can incorporate a trauma-informed approach to improve the physical and mental health of young men and boys

Disclosure in lesbian, gay and bisexual cancer care: towards a salutogenic healthcare environment

open access articleBackground: The literature on sexual orientation disclosure is arguably one of the most developed in the field of lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) people in healthcare in English speaking countries however, relatively little research has been conducted into disclosure in cancer care. Studies have been mainly undertaken in primary care where distinct circumstances pertain and where the benefits of disclosure include obtaining appropriate health information, treatment advice and avoiding misdiagnosis. Methods: We conducted an in-depth qualitative study primarily recruiting patients through oncology care in hospital settings and through LGB community cancer support groups. Data were gathered through semi-structured interviews with 30 LGB patients with different cancer types. Results: Data were analysed using thematic analysis and interpreted and interrogated through salutogenesis theory which offers a useful lens through which to consider the health promoting effects of sexual orientation disclosure in cancer care. We present three themes as part of the analysis: Authenticity as a driver for disclosure in cancer care, Partners as a (potential) salutogenic resource and Creating safe, healing environments conducive to disclosure. The findings are reported and discussed in relation to three inter-related concepts from current salutogenesis theorising including a sense of coherence, generalised resistance resources and healing environments which can facilitate sexual orientation disclosure. Conclusion: Our findings enable a more nuanced approach to understanding disclosure in this context. This study contributes to the literature through its articulation of the salutogenic potential of disclosure (if responded to appropriately) for LGB patients as individuals, in relationship to their partners or carers and the role of creating a visible healing-oriented optimal environment to promote quality of life and recovery

The Evaluation of Wellness Programs for Our Returning Veterans

Today we continue to experience inefficiencies in understanding the mental health and cultural needs of returning service members. I have conducted my own personal research to best comprehend the emotions and needs of returning veterans, evaluating the practices that are most beneficial for healing and reintegration. The primary focus of my independent study was to observe the current mental health treatments that are offered to the veterans outside of the traditional medical realm. In relation to this, I wanted to evaluate the role that religious and spiritual practices play in the veterans’ healing process. I spent four months observing and interviewing various personnel at the Providence Rhode Island Veterans’ Administration Hospital. I conducted interviews with a chaplain, psychologist, peer-­‐mentor specialist, anthropologist, veterans, and PTSD clinical staff members. My research also included the analysis of a documentary film, texts, research studies, and soldier’s memoirs. To demonstrate the services that returning veterans with mental health conditions would receive at the VAH, I applied the story of a recently returned veteran to my encounters. I used this veteran’s story to depict the vast amount of encounters that he could potentially experience during his treatment process, and the different types of treatment mechanisms that may be recommended. I have concluded this research with my personal recommendations, proposing changes and implementations that could be made to better treat the mental health conditions of the veterans

Trauma-informed school programming: Applications for Mental Health professionals and Educator partnerships

An alarming number of children experience significant trauma or chronic stress throughout childhood, manifesting in cognitive, social, physical, and emotional impairment. These challenges are expressed in the P-12 academic setting through difficulties with behavioral and emotional self-regulation, academic functioning, and physical ailments and illness. Advances in trauma-informed care, as applied to the school environment, have inspired new hope for educators who observe first-hand the learning challenges facing traumatized children. This article defines the nature of the problem along with a guiding framework to assist educators and mental health professionals in transforming to a trauma-informed school culture

ETS (Efficient, Transparent, and Secured) Self-healing Service for Pervasive Computing Applications

To ensure smooth functioning of numerous handheld devices anywhere anytime, the importance of self-healing mechanism cannot be overlooked. Incorporation of efficient fault detection and recovery in device itself is the quest for long but there is no existing self-healing scheme for devices running in pervasive computing environments that can be claimed as the ultimate solution. Moreover, the highest degree of transparency, security and privacy attainability should also be maintained. ETS Self-healing service, an integral part of our developing middleware named MARKS (Middleware Adaptability for Resource discovery, Knowledge usability, and Self-healing), holds promise for offering all of those functionalities

Responding sensitively to survivors of child sexual abuse: an evidence review

This report summarises what the evidence tells us about the characteristics of adults who were sexually abused as children and how to most effectively support them.

Mic Check? Mic Check! Amplifying Our Voices

Content Warning: discrimination, suicidal ideation, violence When I write about mental illness, I use the terms: disability, identity, and relationship. However, no word captures what mental illness means to me. Mental illness is somehow both a part of me and a separate, intangible entity. Every day is an exhausting struggle to live with and understand it, and during my first year of graduate school, I experienced covert ableism. This harm caused a long and tedious recovery process on top of ongoing unlearning and healing. Through recovery, I adopted the practice of “embracing the whole” of emotions, feelings, symptoms, and triggers. I questioned the concept of “professionalism” emphasized in my assistantship, which often included dehumanizing emotions. However, I will not expend additional emotional labor to educate those who committed ableist actions. Instead, I will write in depth about my mental illness experiences to relate to folx who have a mental illness. Through this article, I hope that folx with mental illness can empower themselves to embrace the whole of their emotions and the authenticity of their experiences, honoring their own bravery and vulnerability

‘Back to Life’—Using knowledge exchange processes to enhance lifestyle interventions for liver transplant recipients: A qualitative study

Interventions to prevent excessive weight gain after liver transplant are needed. The purpose of the present study was to enhance a specialist post-transplant well-being program through knowledge exchange with end-users.The study used an interactive process of knowledge exchange between researchers, clinicians and health system users. Data were collected as focus groups or telephone interviews and underwent applied thematic analysis.There were 28 participants (age 24-68 years; 64% male). The results identified experiences that may influence decisions around health behaviours during the course of transplant recovery. Three over-arching themes were identified that impact on liver transplant recipients post-transplant health behaviours. These include (i) Finding a coping mechanism which highlighted the need to acknowledge the significant emotional burden of transplant prior to addressing long-term physical wellness; (ii) Back to Life encompassing the desire to return to employment and prioritise family, while co-ordinating the burden of ongoing medical monitoring and self-management and (iii) Tailored, Personalised Care with a preference for health care delivery by transplant specialists via a range of flexible eHealth modalities.This person-centred process of knowledge exchange incorporated experiences of recipients into service design and identified life priorities most likely to influence health behaviours post-transplant. Patient co-creation of services has the potential to improve the integration of knowledge into health systems and future directions will require evaluation of effectiveness and sustainability of patient-centred multidisciplinary service development