Waterbearer: A Reading From the Book of...

In the following piece, I examine the relationship between color and water (Baby Suggs and Beloved) in Toni Morrison's novel, Beloved, as a type of synesthetic coping mechanism meant to disrupt the encroaching normalization of an anti-Black world postslavery. Early in the text I posit two questions: What if Baby Suggs’ appetites shifted, not as some kind of woeful trauma response but as a very deliberate solution to the problem of a world where everyone else’s senses lie askew? What if Beloved likewise rose up from the water, not as a vengeful haunting but a haintful reminder for those living who had lost their way? Building upon this theory, I expand its reach to establish a continued relationship to water and the sensory which Black people have inherited today as our own surreal legacy - one which requires a constant mental reorientation toward freedom. In constructing my thesis, I reference Beloved but also several other critical works of Uction, nonUction, poetry, visual art, Ulm, and sound, each framed as meditation on a particular color and liturgical text ("a reading from the book of... ") to create a mixed media ekphrasis that mimics the surreal in both citation and physical form. The Unished product can be described, at its simplest, as a braided creative nonUction essay or, at its most complex, as a hybrid blend of cultural commentary, personal essay, poetry, and scholarly article.

Public School Trauma Intervention for School Shootings: A National Survey of School Leaders

Trauma intervention in United States’ (U.S.) public schools is varied. The occurrence of public-school shootings across the U.S. elicits questions related to how public schools currently address and provide resources related to trauma for employees and students. A randomized, national survey of public-school teachers, guidance counselors, and administrators was conducted to gather information on public-school preparedness for response to trauma. Findings indicated that only 16.9% of respondents indicated their schools have trauma or crisis plans that address issues related to school shootings. Furthermore, public schools use a variety of strategies to address trauma, but teachers, guidance counselors, and administrators were often unsure about the effectiveness of these trauma interventions in the event of school shootings. Implications for findings suggest methods to enhance next steps in the area of trauma response to school shootings.

Bearing Witness as Social Action: Religious Ethics and Trauma-Informed Response

Written from a standpoint of religious ethics, this article interprets the work of trauma response and recovery in transcendent and moral terms not always apparent to the practitioner or institution. This article provides a broad understanding of spirituality, transcendence, and faith as these concepts relate to Judith Herman’s stages of trauma healing and the characteristics of trauma-informed response articulated by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. These features are then mapped onto specific modes of transcendence and moral themes identifiable in a wide range of religious traditions. The connective framework for this mapping is provided by utilizing the concept “bearing witness,” as synthesized from a wide range of disciplinary perspectives, to describe the work of trauma-informed response. This article concludes by recognizing bearing witness as a form of social action, a moral response with implied if not explicit religious dimensions and spiritual implications, for which an understanding of religious ethics is a helpful ally. Thus, this article concludes that religious ethics can be a valuable resource and partner in addressing the personal, systemic, and political aspects of trauma response and recovery, enabling attention to spiritual well-being of both the trauma survivor and the one responding to the survivor.

Rethinking trauma: A case series and proposed refinements to criterion A for post-traumatic stress disorder in DSM-5

The traumatic event is a core requirement in the diagnosis of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and is defined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual’s (DSM’s) criteria of PTSD as Criterion A. This remains the case, despite opposing views from prior literature that the trauma response can occur without Criterion A. This article explores a definition for psychological trauma, from its etymology to a historical perspective, before examining the evolution of PTSD’s Criterion A across time in various editions of the DSM. The concept of moral injury is also examined, in terms of its correlation with psychological trauma and its impact on the pathological trauma response. A case series of vignettes from the authors’ clinical experience is presented, where PTSD symptoms have been noted in the absence of Criterion A. This is supplemented by the authors’ analyses about how the various life adversities across the cases fall short of Criterion A. Two key features (the imminence of a perceived threat, and the perceived loss of control experienced as a result) of a traumatic event are proposed to refine the definition of psychological trauma. It is hoped that these would serve to improve the current understanding and definition of psychological trauma. Keywords: Psychological trauma; Traumatic event; PTSD.

The white mirror: Face to face with racism in group analysis part 1—mainly theory

Group analysis privileges the social and political, aiming to address individual distress and ‘disturbance’ within a representation of the context it developed and persists in. Reproducing the presence and impact of racism in groups comes easily while creating conditions for reparation can be complicated. This is despite considerable contributions to the subject of racism by group analysts. By focusing on an unconscious, defensive manoeuvre I have observed in groups when black people describe racism in their lives, I hope to build upon the existing body of work. I will discuss the manoeuvre which I call the white mirror. I aim to theoretically elucidate the white mirror. I will argue that it can be understood as a vestigial trauma response with roots as far back as the invention of ‘race’. Through racialized sedimentation in the social unconscious, it has been generationally transmitted into the present day. It emerges in an exacerbated way within the amplified space of analytic groups when there is ethnically-diverse membership. I argue it is inevitable and even essential that racism emerges in groups as a manifestation of members’ racialized social unconscious including that of the conductor(s). This potentially offers opportunities for individual, group and societal reparation and healing. However, when narratives of racism are instead pushed to one side, regarded as a peripheral issue of concern only to minority black or other members of colour, I ask whether systems of segregation, ghettoization or colonization are replicated in analytic groups. This is the first of two articles about the white mirror. The second article which is also published in this issue highlights practice implications.

Konflik Psikologis Tokoh Terry dalam Novel Janji Pelangi Karya Fahrul Khakim

This research is based on the psychological conflict caused by an accident experienced by Terry's character that causes trauma. This is reflected in Fahrul Khakim's novel Janji Pelangi. The purpose of this study was to describe the type of trauma, the trauma response, and the personality structure of Terry's character, ego, and superego. The method in this research is qualitative with the type of text analysis research studied through literary psychology. The data collection technique is done by reading, listening, and taking notes. The results of this study include three things, first is the type of trauma, there are 8 data divided into four types, namely situational trauma due to accidents, developmental trauma due to peer rejection, intrapsychic trauma due to anxiety, and existential trauma due to accidents. not important. Second, there are 44 trauma response data which are divided into four responses, namely emotional responses that show shame, turmoil, and panic. Furthermore, cognitive responses that indicate inability to think, troublesome, and nightmares. Then, the behavioral response shows closure, and appetite decreases. Then the physiological response is indicated as a pale, sad, and thin face. Third, there are 56 data, each of which is as follows, Id has sub aspects which include life instinct, death instinct, and anxiety. Furthermore, the ego has sub-aspects of repression, projection, and regression. Then, the superego embraces morality and the pursuit of perfection. Keywords: psychological conflict, novel, Terry's character Abstrak: Penelitian ini didasari oleh konflik psikologis karena peristiwa kecelakaan yang dialami Tokoh Terry sehingga menyebabkan trauma. Kasus tersebut tercermin dalam sebuah novel yang berjudul Janji Pelangi karya Fahrul Khakim. Tujuan dari penelitian ini adalah untuk mendeskripsikan tipe trauma, respon trauma, dan struktur kepribadian id, ego, dan superego tokoh Terry. Metode dalam penelitian ini adalah kualitatif dengan jenis penelitian analisis teks yang dikaji melalui psikologi sastra. Teknik pengumpulan data dilakukan dengan cara membaca, menyimak, dan mencatat. Hasil penelitian ini meliputi tiga hal, pertama adalah tipe trauma ada 8 data yang terbagi atas empat tipe, yaitu trauma situasional karena kecelakaan, trauma perkembangan karena penolakan teman sebaya, trauma intrapsikis karena kecemasan, dan trauma eksistensial karena kekurangberartian. Kedua, respons trauma ada 44 data yang terbagi menjadi empat respons, yaitu respons emosional yang berindikator malu, bergejolak, dan panik. Selanjutnya, respons kognitif yang berindikator berpikir tak sanggup, merepotkan, dan mimpi buruk. Kemudian, respons perilaku berindikator mengurung diri, dan nafsu makan menurun. Lalu, respons fisiologis berindikator pucat pasi, wajah pilu, dan kurus. Ketiga, terdapat 56 data yang masing-masing sebagai berikut, Id memiliki subaspek yang meliputi naluri kehidupan, naluri kematian, dan kecemasan. Berikutnya, ego mempunyai sub aspek represi, projeksi, dan regresi. Kemudian, superego meliputi moralitas dan mengejar kesempurnaan. Kata kunci: konflik psikologis, novel, tokoh Terry

Improving Victim Retention and Police-Victim Interactions in Rape Investigations

The initial interaction between rape victims and police can affect how these cases progress through the criminal justice system. In one US state capitol, the police agency determined its initial response to rape victims was less effective than desired. Victim retention was low, and officer written reports were found to endorse negative stereotypes about rape victims. A four-hour training highlighting trauma-informed and victim-supportive police response was developed and implemented, and all agency officers were trained (n=~600). Compared to the six months before training, victim retention improved by 32% in the post-training period. Written reports by officers also improved, showcasing victim-supportive language and improving officers' focus on victim services. The increase in victim retention is a positive outcome for a relatively short training intervention. This chapter concludes that intensive, evidence-based training programs that connect victim trauma response to police trauma response may significantly improve police response to rape victims during initial contact.

Leaders' Self-Care in Traumatic Times of Change

This chapter will embody a day in the life of a licensed therapist and four individuals (who are leaders from various professional backgrounds) with a universal trauma response to the COVID-19 pandemic. On any given day, their jobs are not for the faint of heart; they are accustomed to seeing people at their nadir. However, this pandemic has made them question their resiliency, tapped into their reserves, and exhausted their previous effective coping mechanisms. In an effort to seek refuge and respite, their answers lie in their last resort: self-care (something none of them make time for, but something all of them require). Through their collaborative work with a therapist, these leaders were able to prioritize safety within their organizations, facilitate accountability among staff, and encourage social support within their departments.

Impact of global and national crises on people with severe mental illness

SUMMARY As experts in disaster mental health push to reframe disaster response as a preventive medicine rather than its actual state of acute management, various factors should be considered. Although a whole population may be victim to the effects of disasters, particularly vulnerable are those with severe mental illness. Therefore, efforts geared to bolster trauma response should centre on these individuals, starting at a community level and reaching organisational and governmental endeavours and funding.