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The Traumatization of Multi-Systems Involvement

It’s been ten (10) years since Dr. Bruce Perry published his groundbreaking work, The Boy Who Was Raised as a Dog. If you haven’t read his book, especially if you are involved in any trauma-related work, it should be on your next-book-to-read list.  In the book, Perry shares a story that involved a child involved in a foster care court case. In Dr. Perry’s recount, he shares that during his years of work in clinics and mental health, he had little introduction to those involved in child protective, special education, or juvenile justice, even though over 30% of the children being served in their clinics were in one or more of those systems.  Let’s remind ourselves that although Dr. Perry’s book was published in 2007, the recount of his stories happened earlier still.  Dr. Perry also commented in the book of his observation that the public systems that worked with high risk families were overwhelmed, and went on to say that the compartmentalization of services, trainings, and points of views of these different agencies were staggering and in his estimation, very destructive.

Reading Dr. Perry’s experience and valued opinion, validated my own, and since he is an expert on childhood trauma, I felt good about that. My related experience was during a site observation at a residential facility when I was allowed, with permission of the family to participate in a Team Meeting regarding one of the student residents. Sitting around the table were the director of education, the nurse, the case manager, the therapist, the psychiatrist, and lastly, the student.  As in Dr. Perry’s example, each participant all had different measures and metrics they were responsible for obtaining and reporting.  I watched as the interchange took place, observing various nuances that indicated varying levels of involvement from each of the members and again, all from different points of view.

In December, I was honored to be invited to a Congressional Briefing in Washington, D.C., regarding trauma-informed policy. One of panelists shared information on his program through the eyes of a client named “Johnny”.  Johnny, not unlike the child in Dr. Perry’s book, not unlike the resident in my observation, had several agencies involved in his life, all with different goals and strategies for reaching them. The panelist went on to share that his organization had a goal to develop an integrated approach that would help segment the disconnects to lessen the negative impact on Johnny. This panelist had realized what Dr. Perry and I had and that was the issue of fragmentation.

What are some creative ideas for addressing this issue? What innovative models and best practices are successfully in use? We need strategies and solutions. The initial trauma or ACE has the effect of breaking down a person psychologically and emotionally. Fragmentation, disconnected programs, and systems only serve to exacerbate the problem and possibly further traumatize the child or person. We say that our goal is integration (no inference on the goal of the panelist) or depending on the system, reunification, yet the mechanisms underneath put in place to support this goal are as disconnected, disjointed, and chaotic as any we have ever seen. Systems in America are built and fueled with disaggregation and delineation as the centerpiece to their existence. We spend our life creating division and then wonder why people and systems are so divided. How can we move forward to create unity of services and in so doing, contribute to the unity of a person?

Dr. Ivy Bonk is Educational Psychologist/Consultant with IMAGINAL Education Group, Founder/President of ReThink Learning, Inc.

 

 

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Ivy, 

Thank you for posing the questions about what we are actually doing to integrate systems. As a person who's worked at the state and local levels, I have seen many efforts that talk about integration but that often fail because no one demands to see the results - are there actually fewer barriers to services? Is there a single or otherwise similarly simple point of entry?  What do families think? Are we responding to what they have been asking for with respect to systems change? If people, organizations and communities develop a better understanding of the traumatic impact of these systems issues, perhaps they can more effectively address them - so thank you for articulating it. 

Jane Stevens posted:

That's great, Ruth! What did the kids think about Paper Tigers?

As for other suggestions for youth, perhaps they can develop a curriculum to teach other youth about ACEs science. That's what an after-school program in Homer, AK, did. (You can contact Megan Murphy for more info.) Also, Hopeworks N Camden has done the same thing, and those youth also do presentations to adults. (Contact Dan Rhoton.)

The kids I took were deeply moved by the film. That's when I learned how many of "my" kids score over 7 on the survey. I will be connecting with the people you mentioned. Lately the urgency to help these kids has increased. If these kids can reach out and teach others, I feel that it will aid their own resilience... 

That's great, Ruth! What did the kids think about Paper Tigers?

As for other suggestions for youth, perhaps they can develop a curriculum to teach other youth about ACEs science. That's what an after-school program in Homer, AK, did. (You can contact Megan Murphy for more info.) Also, Hopeworks N Camden has done the same thing, and those youth also do presentations to adults. (Contact Dan Rhoton.)

Jane Stevens posted:

Ruth -- Do you teach the kids about ACEs science?

And, Kari, thanks for posting the report about SFDPH. btw, Kaytie has moved on from SFDPH and is working for the state of California in Sacramento.

I took a select group to 'Paper Tigers', after which we did the ACE evaluation. I am open to suggestions on how to further educate them. And myself. 

Ruth -- Do you teach the kids about ACEs science?

And, Kari, thanks for posting the report about SFDPH. btw, Kaytie has moved on from SFDPH and is working for the state of California in Sacramento.

Dr. Ivy Bonk posted:
Ruth Shapovalov posted:

I immediately ordered the book 'The Boy Who Was Raised As a Dog'. I am thirsty for knowledge which will help me deal with traumatized youth who come to our after school drop in program. Thank you for this post.

Thanks, Ruth - you will enjoy the book, it will provide much insight and increase your empathy, for sure.  Blessings!

Thank YOU for the comment. If you have any advice for me, I'll take it! :-) I see between 15 and 25 teens on a daily basis, after school, and have this tiny window of opportunity to positively impact them. 

 

Ruth Shapovalov posted:

I immediately ordered the book 'The Boy Who Was Raised As a Dog'. I am thirsty for knowledge which will help me deal with traumatized youth who come to our after school drop in program. Thank you for this post.

Thanks, Ruth - you will enjoy the book, it will provide much insight and increase your empathy, for sure.  Blessings!

Daniel Sumrok MD DFASAM FAAFP posted:
ACES drive opiate dependance.

I host an after school program with middle school and high school kids, in a town plagued by opiate addiction. We are trying to put so much positive into their lives that they are inspired to rise above the "expected" outcome for teens. 

I immediately ordered the book 'The Boy Who Was Raised As a Dog'. I am thirsty for knowledge which will help me deal with traumatized youth who come to our after school drop in program. Thank you for this post.

I think you would find the trauma-informed systems initiative in San Francisco to be a promising "solution."  I had the pleasure of speaking with Dr. Ken Epstein about it, and he was more than happy to share his insights (BTW, Dr. Bruce Perry is a consultant for the initiative):  http://www.leapsf.org/pdf/Trau...s-Initative-2014.pdf 

For more information, you can contact Kaytie Speziale with the San Francisco Department of Public Health at kaytie.speziale@sfdph.org

Hope this opens a door!

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