Image: Smyth, N.J. (2015). Trauma-Informed Social Work: What is it, and Why Should We Care? [PowerPoint slides]. All social workers and other professionals who work with people who have experienced trauma are at risk of being personally impacted by that trauma. Secondary traumatic stress (STS), vicarious trauma (VT) and re-traumatization are common among helping professionals. When we hear the term trauma-informed care we typically think about how to avoid re-traumatizing our clients.
But what about considering a trauma-informed approach to the systems in which we work?
On February 18, 2016, the #MacroSW chat will discuss systems-level change to avoid re-traumatizing not only our clients but ourselves as social workers, as staff and as nonprofit entities. Through our understanding of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), we know that adult health can be negatively impacted by traumatic experiences in the early years. ACEs also affect our thoughts, behaviors, actions and reactions as individuals, as employees and as leaders. Can we start to address ACEs with system-wide policies and practices that may minimize that impact in later years? A trauma-informed workplace can help not only our clients but our staff in minimizing re-traumatization.
Pat Shelly of the University at Buffalo School of Social Work @UBSSW will host with guest Shelley Hitzel @UBittic.
Shelley Hitzel, Univ. at Buffalo Institute for Trauma and Trauma-Informed Care Intern
Since 2010, Shelley has worked at the Child Advocacy Center of Niagara in Niagara Falls, NY, as a member of a multidisciplinary team providing direct services to both child and adult survivors of trauma. Shelley completed UB’s Trauma Counseling Certificate Program in 2012. Currently, she is an Advanced Standing MSW student and an intern at the UB Institute on Trauma and Trauma-Informed Care. She has participated in aome of our past chats, representing ITTIC.
Questions for discussion:
What is Secondary Traumatic Stress (STS)? What is Vicarious Trauma?
What is re-traumatization?
How can systems be considered to be traumatized or traumatizing?
How can we build systems to prevent re-traumatization across all levels?
Policy – What is TIC policy?
For information about how to participate in the #MacroSW chat, view our FAQs.
All the new resources mentioned in the chat summary can be found below the list of suggested readings at the end of this post.
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During this September 10th MacroSW Twitter Chat (9pm ET, 6pm PT), we will be focusing on Trauma-Informed Care (TIC) and Social Work.
Knowledge of trauma and its impact, assessment and treatment are essential to the future of social work practice, and social work education.
September 10 is the eve of the 14th anniversary of 9-11, which resulted in trauma to a nation, a city, communities, families and individuals; 9-11 (see #NeverForget_911) joined #OklahomaCityBombing as synonyms for “acts of mass murder by terrorists.”
This is also #SuicidePrevention Week. Trauma is obviously part of what both suicide attempt-survivors and suicide loss-survivors experience.
It’s been 10 years since #HurricaneKatrina devastated New Orleans.
Current traumas in the news include the #refugee crisis in Europe, and the ongoing issues of racist violence in the U.S. as seen in #BlackLivesMatter #SayHerName #Ferguson #Charleston
Please join us, with our guest experts from the Institute on Trauma and Trauma-Informed Care, @UBSSW professors Sue Green @UBittic and Tom Nochajski @ubthn.
#MacroSW is a collaboration of social workers, organizations, social work schools, and individuals working to promote macro social work practice. Macro social work practice focuses on changing larger systems, such as communities and organizations. It encompasses a broad spectrum of actions and ideas, ranging from community organizing and education to legislative advocacy and policy analysis. The chats are held bimonthly on Twitter on the second and fourth Thursday of each month at 9 p.m. EST (6 p.m. PST). For more information, chat schedule, and chat archives check out:https://macrosw.wordpress.comOur collaborators include:
Association for Community Organizing and Social Administration (ACOSA), @acosaorg
Karen Zgoda, MSW, LCSW, Instructor of Social Work at Bridgewater State University, @karenzgoda
Rachel West, The Political Social Worker, @poliSW
University at Buffalo School of Social Work, @ubssw
Laurel Hitchcock, PhD, Assistant Professor of Social Work, University of Alabama at Birmingham,@Laurelhitchcock
Kristin Battista-Frazee, MSW, Author and Marketing Consultant, @porndaughter
We wish to acknowledge the contribution of our founding members, the University of Southern California School of Social Work and Network for Social Work Management (NSWM), who were participants during our first year of chats.
![Smyth, N.J. (2015). Trauma-Informed Social Work: What is it, and Why Should We Care? [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from http://www.slideshare.net/njsmyth/toronto-tic-june-2015-handout](https://macrosw.files.wordpress.com/2016/02/retraumatizaton-by-systems-njs.jpg)
