October may be National Book month, but any time is the it is the perfect time to honor the dedicated reading efforts of the Benchmarks Center for Quality Integration (CQi) staff. In 2019 they initiated a CQi staff book club, focusing on deepening their understanding of trauma-informed science, behaviors, and treatments, as well as exploring mental health, leadership, and project management. This initiative also aimed to gain insight into the worlds their project partners work in, such as child welfare and clinical assessment. The book club has proven highly beneficial, enriching the CQi staff’s knowledge and work applications within these realms.
The book club commenced with The Deepest Well by Dr. Nadine Burke Harris, exploring ACEs and their impact on long-term health. Staff learned that ACEs-exposed children face higher risks of weight issues, learning challenges, and behavioral difficulties than their 0-ACE counterparts. To counter these increased risks, Burke Harris outlined six recovery practices: adequate sleep, mental health, nurturing relationships, physical activity, proper nutrition, and mindfulness. The impact of Burke Harris’ research is visible in Benchmarks’ trauma-informed work evident in its strategies to combat the enduring impacts of trauma. This knowledge informs CQi staff members’ guidance to partners and is reflected in Benchmarks’ Trauma-Intensive Comprehensive Clinical Assessment (TiCCA) through positive outcomes for children that will last into adulthood.
The Body Keeps the Score by Dr. Bessel Van Der Kolk explores trauma’s mind-body connection. CQi staff member Kelsey Catherwood, in her Paces Connection blog “Book Club: One Way Life-Long Learning is Encouraged in the Center for Quality Integration,” highlights the parallels between the book’s case studies and the experiences with child welfare case studies, as well as personal experiences of CQi staff. In Rachel Dodge’s blog “Restoring the Nervous System by Healing the Mind-Body Connection” she notes Van Der Kolk’s emphasis on healing both body and mind to overcome trauma, highlighting the significance of acknowledging bodily sensations associated with various emotions. Through Van Der Kolk’s book CQi staff were introduced to various therapeutic approaches beyond medication, highlighting holistic approaches to trauma recovery including EMDR, IFS, psychomotor therapy, neurofeedback, psychodrama, and trauma-informed yoga. The insights gained from The Body Keeps the Score have enhanced the knowledge and practices of CQi staff, aiding them in better assisting their partners in trauma-informed case planning and recommendations. Van Der Kolk encourages a focus on understanding a person’s trauma rather than just their diagnoses to guide appropriate treatment and recommendations, reminding CQi staff to negate the question, “What’s happened to you?” by instead asking the trauma-informed question, “What’s been done to you?”
Jill Duerr Berrick’s The Impossible Imperative tackles the eight challenging and often conflicting principles that guide child welfare workers. Grappling with these principles often creates a dilemma regarding prioritization and decision-making for each child’s best interest. CQi staff, as detailed by Rachel Dodge in her Paces Connection blog “Exploring the Impossible Imperative,” found the book to significantly enhance their comprehension of the demanding and complex work of frontline case workers. The book includes case studies that showcase the challenges of meeting each principle, such as balancing a child’s right to safety against their parents’ right to raise their child without government intrusion. This understanding has deepened staff empathy and provided valuable insights for guiding case planning and supporting their project’s child welfare partners.
Dr. Kenneth Paul Rosenberg’s Bedlam: An Intimate Journey into America’s Mental Health Crisis offered CQi staff a profound exploration of the broken mental health system in the United States. Through personal experiences and compelling stories, the book illuminates the challenges faced by those experiencing mental illness, emphasizing the urgent need for reform and a more compassionate approach to mental health care. Rosenberg highlights how the defunding of America’s mental health system, coupled with societal attitudes and a lack of understanding about mental illness, has resulted in the criminalization of mental illness. Understanding these failings has helped CQi staff steer their partners away from recommendations that reflect such shortcomings, instead guiding them toward progress, evidence-based strategies. Rosenberg provides recommendations for individuals with severe mental illness (SMI) and their families, emphasizing the importance of developing safety plans, fostering empathy and collaboration, and seeking psychiatric help when needed. By embracing Rosenberg’s insights, CQi staff have empowered their partners to adopt effective practices and recommendations that support individuals with SMI.
The CQi staff’s most recent literary journey has taken them through Project Management in Health and Community Services: Getting Good Ideas to Work. In this book by Judith Dwyer, Zhanming Liang, and Valerie Thiessen, staff found a comprehensive guide that focuses on effectively implementing projects in the healthcare and community services sector. It covers essential project management concepts, tailored methodologies, and practical strategies, emphasizing alignment with organizational goals and integration of innovation for successful outcomes. The book has equipped CQi staff with the tools and knowledge needed to efficiently execute projects, making a positive impact on healthcare and community support systems. In her blog “Getting Good Ideas to Work in Project Management” staff member Amanda Dolinger underscores the book’s insights on industry best practices and adept handling of project implementation challenges. Dolinger emphasizes the book’s practical guidance in effectively executing projects, covering crucial aspects like risk management and adapting to project changes. CQi staff learned about the project life cycle, its stages (initiate, plan, implement, and close), and associated strategies. They also acquired tools for monitoring, evaluating, and controlling projects. During meetings they compared the life cycles of their projects to those in the book, boosting confidence in some aspects of their projects and highlighting areas for improvement in others. Furthermore, they mastered creating a project goal chart to identify and strategize overcoming project barriers.
CQi staff did not limit their literary learning to book club. They also engaged in leadership training with Brené Brown’s Dare to Lead, discussed in two Paces Connection blogs written by CQi staff members. Amanda Dolinger’s blog “Benchmarks’ CQi Team Dares to Lead” emphasizes that leadership skills aren’t confined to titles, as each CQi staff member has showcased leadership qualities. Jasmine Cain’s blog “Benchmarks’ CQi Staff Take a Daring Journey into Leadership” underscores Brown’s encouragement to embrace vulnerability and courage in leadership, addressing barriers and fostering courage through vulnerability. Staff utilized the Dare to Lead Read-Along Workbook, rooted in Brown’s research, for a practical understanding of leading with vulnerability. This hands-on approach facilitated open communication and encouraged staff to share their vulnerabilities, promoting transparency and readiness to address challenges when needed. CQi staff aspire to embody the leadership that Brown describes in her book, fostering a culture of openness and transparency. Benchmarks has developed a Supportive Supervision Training Workshop, integrating key insights from Brown’s book such as “clear is kind,” sucky first drafts (which Brown calls “Stormy” first drafts), and “the story I’m telling myself.” These concepts enrich the training, fostering a culture of transparency, understanding, and growth.
As Benchmarks’ CQi staff celebrate the knowledge gained from the books they have traversed, they eagerly anticipate their next literary adventure where they will further enrich their understanding in the field of trauma, mental health, behavioral health, leadership, project management, or perhaps explore an exhilarating uncharted path.
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