Friday, December 30, 2011

Finding a Joyful Heart ♥

Working with trauma impacts each of us in ways that we often do not expect and sometimes do not recognize.  The terms burn out, compassion fatigue, and vicarious, or secondary, trauma, while often used interchangeably, are actually very different responses to work-related stress.

Burn out is a term that describes the emotional exhaustion one can feel over time related to work or other stressors. Often people fee a loss of ideals or a reduced sense of personal accomplishment.  This can result in a reduced sense of commitment.

If you are burned out, you might start to lose a sense of enjoyment for your work.   Your work performance or productively may decrease.  You might start to become more cynical or negative about work and experience more anger, frustration, and feelings of depression.  When people are burned out, they may withdraw from social situations and experience health problems.  This doesn’t happen overnight – it is a cumulative process.

Compassion fatigue has similar characteristics to burn out, but is a maladaptive response to stress for those in the caring professions.  People can have feelings of isolation, lack of empathy and other thoughts or behaviors that reduce enjoyment and productivity.  Someone with compassion fatigue may receive unusual amounts of complaints from others and may do a lot of external blaming, voicing excessive complaints about administrative functions, for example.  People experiencing this may use substances to mask feelings, engage in compulsive behaviors and have difficulty concentrating.  They may be mentally and physically tired and develop chronic ailments such as gastrointestinal problems and recurrent colds.  Often, those with compassion fatigue are in denial about its impact and do not practice sufficient self care.

While compassion fatigue is found in people working in the helping professions, vicarious, or secondary trauma, is found among those who work in the trauma field.  This includes emergency room staff, law enforcement, those involved in disaster response, EMTs, and people working with victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. 

The impact of secondary trauma resembles PTSD. Individuals may have intrusive thoughts, be hyper vigilant, have problems with concentration, and experience changes in their core belief systems.  People may find change difficult, as it is important for there to be a sense of routine.  They may experience fear for personal safety or for the safety of those they care about.  It can impact many aspects of their life, including maintaining close relationships. All of the symptoms of burn out and compassion fatigue may be present, and can be much more severe.

All of these conditions are the result of chronic stress.  Our bodies respond to short-term stress in a manner designed to protect us, pumping chemicals into our body, increasing our blood pressure, and shifting our focus to a state of hyper-vigilance. That is why our ancestors avoided being eaten by lions and tigers and bears (oh my!).  The problem is that, when stress becomes chronic, our bodies don’t know how to regulate those responses and become over-taxed.  Chronic stress can have significant physiological and emotional ramifications.

Unfortunately, many of the people who work in Children’s Advocacy Centers are not told, when they begin this work, of the impact repeated exposure to trauma could have on their lives.  As a result, some, when faced with the symptoms of secondary trauma, may question their commitment, their abilities, and their level of compassion, not understanding that what is happening to them is a normal response to chronic stress and witnessing the impact of trauma.  In addition, the ways people sometimes choose to treat these symptoms, through isolation, compulsive behaviors such as substance abuse, gambling, and overeating, or risk taking behaviors, may actually make things worse.

The stress in our jobs is not going to go away, but our response to it can change. As professionals in this field, it is important to recognize the impact of our work on our lives and incorporate tools to build resilience.

In looking at research into the traits of resilient people, five things come up repeatedly: forgiveness, gratitude, spirituality, authenticity, and the ability to embrace imperfection.

Forgiveness is not about letting people off the hook, but taking the hook, the thing that continues to cause you pain, out of you.  Being able to forgive allows you to move on without the emotional baggage and anger of the experience coming with you.  We are witness to a lot of wrongs committed against vulnerable people and against the people trying to help them, and that can result in an underlying sense of sadness, anger and outrage.  It is okay to feel sadness, anger, or a sense of outrage, but imagine that you are carrying a bag with you and every instance of injustice goes into that bag.  Soon, you will be overcome by the weight of it.  You have to be able to feel those emotions, release them, and move on.  This can be very difficult and takes practice and commitment. People still need to be held accountable for their actions, but you do not have to carry your anger or resentment about their actions with you.

Researchers have found that people who make a daily practice of gratitude experience much more satisfaction in their lives.  One of the symptoms of secondary trauma is a sense of loss.  Taking time each day to reflect on those things for which you are grateful can restore some sense of abundance in your life. These don’t have to be big things – just those little moments of grace when someone lets you into traffic or a co-worker finishes their part of a project on time so you don’t have to feel rushed.  People who practice this find that there is much in their lives to be grateful for, and it helps them cope better when faced with stress.

Spirituality is important because one of the symptoms of secondary trauma is a loss of meaning.  Spirituality does not necessarily mean participating in a formal religious tradition, but it is about finding a sense of something larger than yourself that is positive and nurturing.  For some people, that is found in nature, volunteering, or some creative process that feeds your soul.  After all, if you are going to give your heart and soul to your work, it is important that they are well fed.
Authenticity is the degree to which one is true to one's own personality,
spirit, or character, despite other pressures.  Find people who accept and celebrate you as you are and cherish them.  Too often, we feel a pressure to be someone we are not.  Spend time to get centered and make a friend with the person you truly are.  This is one place where the practices of forgiveness and gratitude can be particularly powerful.

Embrace imperfection.  BrenĂ© Brown, a researcher who spent 10 years studying shame and resiliency, points out that striving for perfection is a way of avoiding feelings. Dr. Brown also found that people who experience what she calls wholehearted living, believe they are worthy of having a life that is abundant and rich in meaning and experience.
It is hard to feel worthy when we are trying to be perfect.  Nobody is perfect and no amount of effort will get you there.  Our imperfections are what make us interesting people.  And, as Stephen Levine says, when you step into life you go two feet, when you fall on your face, you go six.

The trick to incorporating one or all five of these practices into your life involves just that, practice.  It is a matter of establishing a discipline that allows you to find the time in your already busy life to incorporate a few changes that can make a big difference in your ability to be present and happy with the work that you do – and to be of the most help to the children and families you serve.  One small step is to write down three things you are grateful for today, and go on from there, adding a little more of these practices as you find time. Remember, you don’t have to be perfect. As we begin the New Year, resolve to incorporate one of more of these practices into your life and create the resiliency that will lead you to a joyful heart. 

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Tuesday Travel Tip


Doug, Lynn, and Maureen spend a lot of time on the road, so we are going to share some of our favorite travel tips with you to help make your journeys a little less stressful.

Want to avoid getting a bad seat on your next plane trip?  Not every seat in coach is equal. To find out which seats you should skip, go to http://www.seatguru.com/.  You can enter the airline you plan to fly and type of plane, or your flight number, and Seat Guru will show you the best and worst seats on the plane. For example, some seats have equipment stowed under them, eliminating your leg room.  On some planes, the “window” seat in a row may not actually have a window.  Hopefully someone will develop a website so you could find out where the crying baby (irritating, but you have to feel sorry for them and their parents) or the overly talkative seatmate will be.  Happy Travels.

Monday, December 19, 2011

Cultural Competency & Diversity – it’s more than providing interpreters.


Cultural Competency and Diversity is one of the standards that many CACs find challenging.  Often, site reviewers hear that the center is in an area with little ethnic diversity.  The standard encourages centers to look beyond ethnicity in developing culturally competent programs and services.

Organizational cultural competency is something that evolves and needs to be sustained over time, at the both individual and systems level.  Efforts to provide culturally competent services should be woven into the agency’s mission, values, guiding principles, and practices.

The Center for Effective Collaboration and Practice (www.cecp.air.org) describes cultural competence in this way:
There are five essential elements that contribute to a system's ability to become more culturally competent.  The system should (1) value diversity, (2) have the capacity for cultural self–assessment, (3) be conscious of the "dynamics" inherent when cultures interact, (4)  institutionalize cultural knowledge, and (5) develop adaptations to service delivery reflecting an understanding of diversity between and within cultures.  Further, these five elements must be manifested in every level of the service delivery system.  They should be reflected in attitudes, structures, policies, and services.

In looking at how to meet the Cultural Competency and Diversity standard, it is important for the agency and team to identify different cultural aspects of their community.  In addition to ethnic diversity, consider the diversity in the types of faith communities, socioeconomic status, educational levels, LGBT youth and families, mental health issues, and accessibility by individuals with physical, hearing, visual or other conditions that may potentially limit access to services.  Conducting a survey of the diversity in your community may seem daunting, but other organizations, such as
United Way,
school districts, and local or state government agencies may have already done some of this work. 

Review the policies and practices that are in place.  Ask your staff and team to think about how the CAC reflects a culture that accepts diversity. Does the CAC help create an environment where children and families feel safe and respected?  When people come into your center, what are the images they see?  Do toys and reading materials reflect different cultures, genders, and ages?  Are the decorations neutral or do you strive to project a message of inclusiveness?  How have you created a space where any child and family can see themselves in that place?  Are staff and volunteers recruited to reflect diversity in the community?  What training does the staff, volunteers and team receive to help them become sensitive to different cultural beliefs and practices?  Are you actively seeking out members of the community to provide input and training? Are there memoranda of understanding in place with organizations that can provide culturally relevant training and services?  Are interpreters trained to work with children and families within a CAC setting?  How are the policies and practices of your agency monitored and updated? 

We all have prejudices and biases, whether we want to admit it or not.  It is important to recognize those prejudices and biases and begin to look at ways we can adapt to diversity and cultural context in order to improve equality of opportunity and services.  Lack of awareness leads to miscommunication that can result in less effective services to children and families or, worse, no services at all if the family quits coming to the center or working with partner agencies.

A quick exercise to start a discussion with your staff and team on this topic is to put flip chart or other paper on the wall and truthfully brainstorm all of the names you use to describe your clients, including those made as part of jokes or asides.  Are some derogatory?  Where do those terms come from and how do those attitudes consciously or unconsciously affect behavior that can impact the interaction those individuals have with your center and members of the team?  How do individual and organizational biases affect your ability to ensure all children have access to your center and the services provided?

The State of Connecticut has developed a tool to help organizations assess their level of cultural competency.  You can access it at: http://www.ct.gov/dcf/LIB/dcf/multicultural_affairs/pdf/MCA_service_system.pdf

In 2006, National Children’s Alliance developed a brief manual that provides guidance to MDTs and CACs on cultural competency and diversity.  The manual provides suggestions on determining diversity needs and about creating, implementing, and evaluating a cultural competency and diversity plan.  You can find a copy of Guidance on Cultural Competency and Diversity on the WRCAC website:  http://www.westernregionalcac.org/images/documents/cultcomp.pdf

We all have to become culturally competent when developing effective relationships with our multidisciplinary teams.  Each partner agency has its own culture and way of doing things, but through communication and understanding, we develop respectful and effective ways of working together.  Those same skills can be used to develop better relationships and understanding of different cultures in your community.

Note: the NCA 2012 Program Improvement Grant includes Cultural Competency as one of its funding priorities.  You can find the RFP at www.nca-online.org.  Click Funding Opportunities.   

Friday, December 16, 2011

A message to you from the children of Quinhagak, Alaska

The Yup'ik are aboriginal people of western Alaska.

The village of Quinhagak, Alaska -- population 680 -- is primarily Yup'ik.

The fifth grade school kids in tiny Quinhagak decided they wanted to send a message to the other Yup'ik Eskimo villages in the area.

So they used the small school's computer and made this little video and sent it to those other villages.

They were shocked at what happened next.......because it was picked up by the internet and already one million people around the world have watched it.

Here is their message to you, from the fifth grade Yup'ik school kids in Quinhagak:

http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=LyviyF-N23A


Thanks to Diane Payne from Justice for Native Children for sharing this with us so we can share it with you.