The Diocese of Palm Beach states as its mission “the Church of Palm Beach will strive to discern God’s will in satisfying the spiritual, moral, sacramental, educational, and basic needs of all people, with justice, respecting the dignity of each person.” Considering the landmark ACE Study by Drs. Vincent Felitti and Robert Anda (1998) which linked childhood adversity with health and well-being throughout the lifespan, and understanding that childhood trauma has been identified as the single most important unaddressed epidemic of the 21st century, the diocese could best fulfill its mission by creating a Trauma-Informed Church. This could be done utilizing the trauma-informed approach outlined by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) (2014) and adapted for ministry by Chaplain Chris Haughee (2016).
This proposed project involves four steps to develop trauma-informed ministry in this diocese. The first step would be an introductory presentation on ACEs/childhood trauma/toxic stress to ministry leaders and staff who work at the centralized Pastoral Center. The second step would be a diocesan-wide ACEs and Resiliency workshop targeted toward ministry leaders and staff in diocesan parishes and schools. This workshop would include a presentation by the diocesan Safe Environments office and a screening of the movie, Resilience, as well as an opportunity for parish teams to identify specific needs in their own environments. Step three would provide Mental Health First Aid Training for representatives of each parish and school. The final step would include presentations and workshops at individual parishes and schools designed to address the specific needs identified at the workshop described above. These local events could be open to the general community at the pastors’/parishes’ discretion.
Trauma-informed principles would be incorporated as follows:
- Safety – ACEs/toxic stress/trauma information would be introduced in a step-wise fashion, beginning with a core group of people who already work closely together. Individuals would be trained in Mental Health First Aid to address potential crises triggered by information shared at parish presentations. Activities would be prefaced with guidelines that emphasize confidentiality, the acceptability of taking a break if necessary, and the availability of support resources.
- Trustworthiness and Transparency – Respect and confidentiality would be emphasized. Activities would be publicized; people throughout the diocese would be encouraged to participate.
- Peer Support – Presentations would identify individuals with lived trauma experiences who could potentially be recruited and trained as peer support resources.
- Collaboration and Mutuality – The program would engage all members of the diocese, from pastors to parish secretaries, from youth ministers/teachers to youth and parents in the effort to become trauma-informed, which would be reflected in their relationships.
- Empowerment, Voice, and Choice – TI diocesan, school, and parish staffs would utilize shared decision-making and goal-setting at the administrative level, with teachers and pastoral ministers responding similarly as they interact with students and ministry participants.
- Cultural, Historical, and Gender Issues – Many cultural and ethnic groups are represented throughout the diocese, several with separate ministry groups. Group leaders would be recruited to increase cultural awareness among all sectors. While established Catholic Church teaching on gender issues could not be compromised, respect for the innate dignity of every person would be emphasized throughout the program.
This project would address multiple levels of the Social-Ecological Model (SEM). The Presentation for Pastoral Center Staff would increase knowledge at the Individual level, which could impact the Interpersonal level (participants’ family, friends, social networks) and the Organizational level (participants would be diocesan leaders with the ability to affect organizational policies, procedures, and programming). The Workshop for Pastoral Center Staff/Diocesan Ministry Leaders would increase knowledge on the Individual level with the potential to affect the Interpersonal level (families, friends, social networks, and co-workers of the participants); there would also be an impact at the Organizational level since parishes would have multiple representatives trained to bring trauma-informed knowledge and practices back to their workplaces. There is also the potential to impact the Community level, since parishes exist in communities and have working relationships with other organizations within their communities. Mental Health First Aid Training would address Individual, Interpersonal, Organizational, and Community levels of the SEM. Presentations and Workshops at Parishes and Schools would have the potential to address all levels of the SEM, Individual, Interpersonal, Organizational, and Community levels for reasons outlined above, but also Public Policy since parish communities often include members active in local, state, and/or national government.
A public health framework would be utilized for this project. The goal would be primary prevention of ACEs/toxic stress/trauma through education of the diocesan pastoral staff, Catholic school teachers, and parish ministers and staff, with expansion of that educational effort through the diocesan parishes to all their members. The members of diocesan parishes represent all sectors of their communities. They are physicians, mental health professionals, businessmen and women, teachers, lawyers, judges, law enforcement officers and other first responders, government officials, daycare providers, stay-at-home moms and dads, retirees, college students, children and youth. Once educated, they would take that knowledge into their homes, schools, workplaces, and communities to not only reduce ACEs/toxic stress/trauma (primary prevention), but perhaps to also identify children and adults at-risk and assist them in finding appropriate resources (secondary prevention). Members of the diocese who work in health care and mental health professions might also use the knowledge gained through this program to institute screening protocols in their practices (secondary prevention) or specific treatment interventions (tertiary prevention).
References:
Diocese of Palm Beach (FL). https://www.diocesepb.org/mission
Centers for Disease Control. https://www.cdc.gov/violencepr.../acestudy/index.html
Felitti, V. J., Anda, R. F., Nordenberg, D., Williamson, D. F., Spitz, A. M., Edwards, V., ... & Marks, J. S. (1998). Relationship of childhood abuse and household dysfunction to (ACE) Study. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 14(4), 245-258.
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (2014). SAMHSA’s Concept of Trauma and Guidance for a Trauma-Informed Approach. HHS Publication No. (SMA) 14-4884.
Haughee, C (2016). http://www.intermountainminist...-trauma-informed.pdf
KPJR Films. https://kpjrfilms.co/resilience/
Mental Health First Aid Training. https://www.mentalhealthfirstaid.org/
McLeroy, K.R., Bibeau, D., Steckler, A. Glanz, K. (1998). An ecological perspective in health promotion programs. Health Education Quarterly, 15(4), 351-377.
Institute for Work and Health (2015). https://www.iwh.on.ca/what-res...-tertiary-prevention
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