Handout 1
Transcription
Handout 1
Trauma Informed Approach: ENGAGING AFRICAN AMERICAN MEN SAM SIMMONS, LADC BEHAVIORAL CONSULTANT Objectives • Discuss the link between the intergenerational trauma and current challenges of African American men. • Discuss trauma informed best and/or promising practices being used to work with African American men. • Discuss the importance of being aware of the trauma link by both clinician and client. Engaging African American Men 2 Intergenerational Trauma • Intergenerational trauma happens when the effects of trauma are not resolved in one generation. When trauma is ignored and there is no support for dealing with it, the trauma will be passed from one generation to the next. • Intergenerational trauma was first observed in 1966 by clinicians alarmed by the number of children of survivors of the Nazi Holocaust seeking treatment in clinics in Canada. Engaging African American Men 3 Historical Trauma • Historical (Intergenerational) Trauma is cumulative emotional and psychological wounding, over the lifespan and across generations, emanating from massive group trauma experiences. • Dr. Maria Yellow Horse Braveheart, PhD, conceptualized historical trauma in the 1980's, as a way to develop stronger understanding of why life for many Native Americans is not fulfilling "the American Dream". Engaging African American Men 4 Historical Trauma • Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome (P.T.S.S.) is a condition that exists as a consequence of centuries of chattel slavery followed by institutionalized racism and oppression have resulted in multigenerational adaptive behavior, some positive reflecting resilience, and others that are harmful and destructive. • Theory of P.T.S.S. was developed by Dr. Joy DeGruy as a result of twelve years of quantitative and qualitative research. Engaging African American Men 5 The Five Trauma Points American Chattel Slavery (1619-1865) Post-slavery and Jim Crow (South, 1865-1965) Ghetto (Northern Migration, 1915-68) Ghetto and welfare (1968-1975) Hyperghetto, “War on Drugs” and Prison (1975-present) Engaging African American Men 6 Trauma Points • 1619-1865 Chattel Slavery (personal property, bred, bought and sold as commodities) first arrived in Jamestown, Virginia in 1619 Duluth June 15, 1920 • 1865-1965 Jim Crow South – State-sponsored terrorism, lynching (at least 4,742 in south and 219 in north) and Ku Klux Klan – Slavery Abolished The 13th Amendment 1865 - except as a punishment for crime…one year later prisons overflowing with Black inmates. Engaging African American Men 7 Trauma Points • 1915-68 Northern migration and Ghetto leaving the farm or share cropping – Menial and manufacturing jobs. – Segregated housing and employment. • 1968-1975 Welfare and Ghetto “no men in the home” – Drugs, crime and family disintegration (all inter-related) took a heavy toll on the inhabitants of the inner city. – The exodus of middle class Engaging African American Men 8 In Minnesota, a black man is 26.8 times more likely to be in prison than a white man. Trauma Points • 1975-present Hyper-ghetto and Prison – Hyperghetto is the extreme concentration of underprivileged groups in the inner cities – The exodus of middle class – The exodus of low education industrial manufacturing jobs – “War on Drugs” and Prison Blacks and whites use and sell drugs at about the same rate, but blacks are 20 times more likely going to Jail. – Concentrated police presents Engaging African American Men 9 Trauma and Trauma Response • Threat Response Cycle – Interruption in Threat Response Cycle – Stuck in “Fight or Flight” or Survival Mode – Struck in Freeze and Dissociation • Effects of Historical Traumas • A Current Look…. Engaging African American Men 10 Threat Response Cycle Charge: Discharge: • Muscle contraction • Adrenalin and Cortisol secretion • Increased heart rate • Survival energy production • • • • Tingling Trembling Tears Completion of defensive movements Adapted from Somatic Experiencing®, a school of somatic (i.e., body-focused) therapy for healing trauma. Engaging African American Men 11 Threat Response Interruption Some Causes: • Not wanting to feel out of control: stop ourselves “get a grip (literally)” and “Just get over it,” • Situational priorities: (attend to a child’s needs) • Ongoing threats (recurring abuse/violence, racial microaggressions, oppression) • New situations that prompt more Threat Responses: (denial of traumatic events by others) Adapted from Somatic Experiencing®, a school of somatic (i.e., body-focused) therapy for healing trauma. Engaging African American Men 12 Stuck in Fight/ Flight or Survival Trauma Symptoms include: (“re-living” and “hyperarousal” PTSD) • • • • Anxiety, agitation, hypervigilance, irritability, anger outbursts Difficulty with staying engaged in relationships/jobs/projects Difficulty relaxing, resting or sleeping, insomnia, nightmares Tendency to connect the dots that do not belong together (S/he must be cheating on me,” “he is disrespected me,” etc.) • In Children: Hyperactivity, difficulty sitting still/concentrating, compulsive talking, truancy, runaway, bullying Adapted from Somatic Experiencing®, a school of somatic (i.e., body-focused) therapy for healing trauma. Engaging African American Men 13 Stuck in Fight/ Flight or Survival Historical Traumas Effects • Having to work hard to manage anger/fear in daily encounters with prejudice, discrimination and lack of equality. • Conscious/unconscious expectations of being treated unfairly because of one’s race, sexual orientation, gender, etc. • Distrust/judgment against people in one’s own community (i.e., internalized oppression) Engaging African American Men 14 Struck in Freeze and Dissociation Trauma Symptoms include (“avoidance” PTSD) • Depression, feelings of emptiness, detachment and difficulty defending self or facing conflicts • Inability to connect the dots that are right in front of them (fails to notice child is missing for hours) • In Children: difficulty processing information, “loner,” excessive shyness/fearfulness, clinging Engaging African American Men 15 Struck in Freeze and Dissociation Historical Traumas Effects • Hopelessness/powerlessness and resignation about prejudice, discrimination and inequity (a conscious/unconscious belief that things/people cannot change) • A pattern of not speaking up about prejudice, discrimination and inequity followed by a sense of resentment /shame/selfblame. • Indifference, withdrawal from relationships in one’s own community Engaging African American Men 16 Current Example • African-American men, between the ages of 18 to 40 (effected by “Crack Era” 1984-1990). • Have experienced frequent traumatic experiences as both perpetrator and victim. • Them often feel socially, economically and educational systems excluded. • Have little or no healthy involvement in mainstream life that foster health selfesteem, success and hope for a future. Engaging African American Men 17 Current Example • Hyper-masculine identity featuring: – emotional numbness – fear/shame inducement – misogyny – a high physical pain threshold – sexual prowess – The negative parts of Hip Hop life. Engaging African American Men 18 Resulting in…. • • • • • poor emotional regulation attachment issues raised by a single parent female-dependent rite of passage involves an traumatic or stressful event (incarceration, unplanned for pregnancy, etc.) • Feel they have nothing to lose. • Not responding successfully to traditional programs. Engaging African American Men 19 Resulting in…. Self-destructive behavior that can be strongly connected to depression, regarded as suicidal called ”indirect suicide” or “slow suicide”: • Use of drugs and alcohol - selfmedicating • Homicide and Glorification of death little respect for life, more praise in death i.e. Biggie and Tupuc • High-risk behaviors – Gangs, risky sex, etc. • "Suicide by cop” - death by showdowns Engaging African American Men 20 Resulting in…. • Survival Stress Management: A process of attempting to bring balance or adapting to stressful situations by acting or reacting without thinking of the consequences of our choices; immediate satisfaction or instant self-gratification; resulting in increased stress and/or depression: – Judgmental and distorted thoughts and feelings, impatience, exploitation, aggression, abuse and violence directed against one’s self or others. – Addictive substances and behavior (i.e., drugs, alcohol, sex, shopping, gambling, food, video games, etc.) produces a limited sense of relief requires repetitions. Engaging African American Men 21 Resulting in…. • Untreated Trauma and Symptoms: When trauma and other mental health disorders aren't treated, African American Men are more vulnerable to incarceration, homelessness, substance abuse, homicide and suicide. • Poverty, racism and the impact of past trauma (particularly violence) are the primary contributing factors to the mental health disorders of young African American men. Engaging African American Men 22 Promising Practices • Trauma-Informed Approach • Cognitive Behavioral Programs • Healing Generations Curriculum for African American Men • Taking treatment to the men • The Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study Engaging African American Men 23 Trauma-Informed Approach • Trauma-informed care is an approach to engaging people with histories of trauma that recognizes the presence of trauma symptoms and acknowledges the role that trauma has played in their lives. • Recognizing that trauma includes physical, sexual and institutional abuse, neglect, intergenerational trauma, and disasters that induce powerlessness, fear, recurrent hopelessness, and a constant state of alert. Engaging African American Men 24 Cognitive Behavioral • Thinking for a Change (T4C) is an integrated, cognitive behavior change program for offenders that includes cognitive restructuring, social skills development, and development of problem solving skills. – Modified for community use (stories, role play examples, etc.) • Other approaches to cognitive-behavioral therapy, including Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy, Rational Behavior Therapy, Rational Living Therapy, Cognitive Therapy, and Dialectic Behavior Therapy. Engaging African American Men 25 Healing Generations • The Healing Generations Curriculum aims to break the intergenerational cycle of violence by allowing African American Men the opportunity to safely explore the links between traumatic experiences and violence, while building skills to assist them in refraining from violence and start personal healing. – – – – – Family Story (Family Story DVD) Importance of Stories and Why Family Trees Stress Management Simplicity Engaging African American Men 26 Taking Treatment to the Men • Engaging fathers through cognitive and emotional health focused empowerment group in concert with one to one counseling, 20 minute sessions. (Father Project & AAFS) • Emotional Health and Stress management training to help African American men learn better coping methods. Engaging African American Men 27 The Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study • Major American research project that poses the question of whether and how childhood experiences affect adult health decades later • Provides compelling evidence that: – Adverse childhood experiences are surprisingly common – ACE’s happen even in “the best of families” – ACE’s have long-term, damaging consequences • Findings reveal powerful relationships between emotional experiences as children and physical and mental health as adults Source: The Adverse Childhood Experiences Study website: www.acestudy.org, Engaging African American Men 28 Significant Life Events Screening • African American Family Services screened African American 197 African American male clients for possibility of experiencing trauma over the last three years. The men completed their 18 questions Significant Life Events Screener, which a “yes” answer indicates the possibility of experiencing a traumatic event. All, or 100% of the 197 men answered “yes” to 4 or more of the 18 questions. 120 of these men or 61% answered “yes” to over half of the questions. Engaging African American Men 29 Obstacles • Invisible Trauma • Diagnosing And Treatment • African American Community Beliefs • Affordable and Accessible Care • Compassion Fatigue Engaging African American Men 30 Invisible Trauma Racial Microaggressions: Are brief and commonplace daily verbal, behavioral and environmental indignities, whether intentional or unintentional insults to the target person or group. Seem to appear in three forms: • Microassault: an explicit racial derogation • Microinsult: rudeness, insensitivity or racial slights • Microinvalidation: exclude, negate, or nullify the psychological thoughts, feelings, or experiential reality of a person of color. Engaging African American Men 31 Responding to Microaggressions • The Catch-22: How should I respond? What are the consequences if I do? • Clash of racial realities: “Did the person of color simply misinterpret the action? • The Invisibility of Unintentional Expressions of Bias: How do we make the perpetrator aware of it? • Perceived Minimal Harm of Racial Microaggressions: The perpetrator usually believes that the victim has overreacted, is being overly sensitive and/or petty. Engaging African American Men 32 Diagnosing And Treatment • High rates of misdiagnosis. – Often, depression is diagnosed as schizophrenia and disproportionately underdiagnosed mood disorders. – Diagnosis affected by bias diagnostic instruments. • Multigenerational trauma continue to be treated as secondary. • Historical Impact of Slavery – This tends to get dismissed as irrelevant. – European Americans will often try to define the experience of African Americans Engaging African American Men 33 Affordable and Accessible Care • African Americans are less likely to be treated with newer medications, than Whites. When they do receive medications, they often receive higher dosages. • African American men are more likely to lack insurance or coverage for mental illness. Engaging African American Men 34 African American Beliefs • The stigma attached to mental illness: “It’s considered a weakness”, “should be able to shake it off”, “part of African American life” or turn to faith to help you through. • Mistrust of health professionals and psychiatry in particular rooted in racism that has taken the form of research projects. • Difficulty addressing intergenerational trauma Engaging African American Men 35 Compassion Fatigue • Compassion Fatigue can result from handling the pain and suffering of others for too long. • Symptoms: – energy depletion; – reduced effectiveness; – decline in compassion towards others; – avoidance; detachment; – irritability; etc. • If you cannot generate compassion for your clients you should not be in the room with them Engaging African American Men 36 Intervention and Prevention • Provider Education/Service Delivery • Community Education/Intervention and Prevention • Research Engaging African American Men 37 Provider Education & Service • Develop and support mental health intervention initiatives that are specifically geared to African American males. • Incorporate Trauma from a cultural perspectives as part of the assessment and treatment process. • Understand specific cultural behaviors factors, the extent to which alcohol and drugs are used to cope with racism and other forms of trauma. Engaging African American Men 38 Counseling Staff • Listen to the stories of our patients about trauma and how it affects their complex lives • Be aware not to add to the trauma with your beliefs (it’s just excuse, they should know better.) Compassionate Accountability • Be aware of compassion fatigue as a provider. • Educate our patients about what is normal in the aftermath of trauma. Engaging African American Men 39 Community Intervention • African American institutions, community leaders and health professionals must encourage and promote participation of Black men in Mental health services both traditional and non-traditional. 2% of psychiatrists, 2% of psychologists and 4% of social workers. • Conduct stigma awareness training at faith and community organizations, etc. • Development of more African American Professionals Engaging African American Men 40 Research Adverse Childhood Experiences Study: Largest study of its kind ever done to examine the health and social effects of ACEs over lifespan (17,421 participants, 1995-97) Most were 50 or older (62%), white (77%) and college educated (72%) www.acestudy.org • Increase the representation of people of color in the research in order to develop more culturally effective interventions. ACEs Study included less then 5% African American. • Fund research to consider racism as a form of trauma that could account for health disparities. Engaging African American Men 41 Conclusion • There is a need to develop and support initiatives that is sensitive to historical/generational trauma as a way to improve our intervention and prevention efforts. • By understanding our own biases and prejudices, we can eliminate the harm that they can cause. • We are shaped by our stories and healing can start by embracing them. Engaging African American Men 42 Questions and Answers Instead of "What's wrong with you?" lets ask, "What happened to you?“ “Some change is just about being brave enough to get out the box.” Thank You Have a great conference!!! Engaging African American Men 43 References & Resources Movies and Documentaries: • • HIP-HOP: beyond beats and rhymes: The documentary explores the issues of masculinity, violence, homophobia and sexism in hip hop music and culture, through interviews with artists, academics and fans. produced and directed by Byron Hurt (2006) The Slavery by Another Name: a searing examination of how the enslavement of African-Americans persisted deep into the 20th century based the book Slavery by Another Name: The Re-Enslavement of Black Americans from the Civil War to World War II by Pulitzer-Prize winning Douglas A. Blackmon (2012) PBS Programming Websites: • • • • The ACE Study http://www.acestudy.org/ Somatic Experiencing®: www.traumahealing.com SAMHSA's National Center for Trauma-Informed Care (NCTIC): www.samhsa.gov/nctic/ The Suicide Prevention Resource Center (SPRC),http://www.sprc.org/library/black.am.facts.pdf Engaging African American Men 44 References & Resources References • • • • • • • Ancharoff, M.R., Munroe, J.F. & Fisher, L.M. (1998). The legacy of combat trauma. Clinical implications of inter-generational transmission. In Y. Danieli, (Ed.), International handbook of multigenerational legacies of trauma (pp. 257-276). New York: Plenum. “Being Black and Feeling Blue” was funded by the National Institute of Mental Health and the National Institute on Aging. Funding for the Monitoring the Future Study is provided by the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Bell CC. Treatment issues for African-American men. Psychiatric Annals. 1996;26:3336. Black Mental Health Alliance for Education and Consultation, Inc. The primary mission of the organization is to provide and promote a holistic, culturally relevant approach to the development and maintenance of optimal mental health for African Americans and other people of color. Bradshaw, John (2005) Healing the Shame that Binds You (Recovery Classics) Brave Heart, M. Y. H. (2000) Wakiksuyapi: Carrying the historical trauma of the Lakota. Tulane Studies in Social Welfare, 21-22, 245-266. Carter RT. The Influence of Race and Racial Identity in Psychotherapy. New York: Wiley & Sons; 1995. Engaging African American Men 45 References & Resources References • • • • • • • • • Carrillo, Ricardo, Ph.D. (Editor) & Tello, Jerry (Editor) Family Violence and Men of Color: Healing the Wounded Male Spirit (Springer Series: Focus on Men) Case, Ellis (2003) The Envy of the World: On Being a Black Man in America. Washington Square Press: New York, NY Denham, Aaron R. (2008). Rethinking Historical Trauma: Narratives of Resilience, Transcultural Psychiatry. Sage Publications Franklin, A. J. (2004 ). From Brotherman to Manhood-How Black Men Rescue Their Relationships from the Invisibility Syndrome. New York: John Wiley. Joe, S. & Kaplan, M. (2001) Suicide among African American Men. Suicide & Life Threatening Behavior (31), 106-121. Johnson, Ernest (1998). Brothers on the Men-Understanding and Healing Anger for African American Men and Women. New York: Pocket Books. Journal of Counseling and Development( 22-JUN-08) Racial microaggressions against Black Americans: implications for counseling. (Innovations in Multicultural Research) Leary, DeGruy, Joy. Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome: America’s Legacy of Enduring Injury and Healing, Uptone Press, 2005 Levine, P., & Kline, M. (2007). Trauma through a child’s eyes. Berkeley, CA: North Atlantic Books. Engaging African American Men 46 References & Resources • • • • • • • • • • Oliver, William (2006). The Streets: An Alternative Black Male Socialization Institution. Journal of Black Studies, 36 (6): 918-937 Poussaint, Alvin F. & Alexander, Amy (2001) Lay My Burden Down: Suicide and the Mental Health Crisis Among African-Americans. Beacon Press Reid, Omar et al., (2005). Post Traumatic Slavery Disorder-Definition, Diagnosis and Treatment. Charlotte, NC: Conquering Books. Reya, Eran (2007) The Death of Black America, AuthorHouse Rich, J. A., C. M. Grey, et al. (2005). “Pathways to recurrent trauma among young Black men: traumatic stress, substance use, and the “code of the street”.” American Journal of Public Health 95(5): 816-24. Source: Race, Ethnicity and Health Care: Young African American Men in the United States, Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, 2006 The Mental Health of African American Men Fact Sheet, a Community Voices Publication, was funded by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. Washington, Harriet A. (2007) Medical Apartheid: The Dark History of Medical Experimentation on Black Americans from Colonial Times to the Present. White, Joseph & Cones, James (1998). Black Man Emerging-Facing the past and seizing a future in America. New York: W.H. Freeman. Williams, Terrie Black (2008) Pain: It Just Looks Like We're Not Hurting. Engaging African American Men 47