Trauma Blog

Research Methods: The Case for Nonlinear Dynamic Systems
Nonlinear dynamic systems (NDS) is a general theory that describes and predicts changes over time (i.e., dynamics; Gregson & Guastello, 2011). Whereas a linear approach assumes that input is proportional to output, NDS allows us to model sudden changes, such as properly timed jumps from small inputs producing vast changes to a system. Although a substantial body of research has identified variables critical to understanding trauma exposure and its aftereffects—such as factors related to resilience or vulnerability—it often attempts to examine these dynamic constructs in a static, linear fashion. I will briefly discuss why the general linear approach may fall short and how NDS allows us to look at critical variables in ways that capture complex relationships.
 

A Mother’s Pain: Vicarious Traumatic Stress After Race-Related Violence
Have you ever wondered how people are impacted by the mass publicization of race-related violence? Our study found that one particular group may be at risk for vicarious trauma, while another may experience a decrease in trauma symptoms. Learn more in our blog.

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health and human services providers in practice ‎and in training: A global collaboration on psychotrauma survey project
StressPoints

As we enter the fourth year of the COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic’s impact on population mental health is of uncertain magnitude and duration (Manchia et al., 2022), but evidence from numerous surveys indicate adverse outcomes for girls and women (Sun et al., 2023), gender minority individuals (Nowaskie & Roesler, 2022), individuals with physical health problems (Robinson et al., 2022), older adults, and children and adolescents (Zolopa et al., 2022). A particularly vulnerable group, despite having a high level of resilience, are healthcare workers and organizations, and the mental/behavioral health impact on medical, nursing and other physical healthcare providers is well recognized (e.g., Ford et al., 2022; Hannemann et al., 2022; Sahebi et al., 2021). However, the toll on mental/behavioral health and human services providers has not been systematically evaluated, with only two surveys to date. One, conducted in 2020 with 110 psychotherapists from the United Kingdom, identified burnout as prevalent (Kotera et al., 2021). The second, a survey of child/adolescent, couples and family therapists in Canada (N=1280 in July 2020; 905 in June 2021), found that therapists reported better mental health than the general population but increasing difficulties with sleep, anxiety, sadness, irritability and mood swings in 2021 compared to 2020 (Battam & Hilbrecht, 2021).

Clinician’s corner: STARS: An ecological blueprint for addressing racial stress in trauma-informed ‎practice in schools
StressPoints
In a world where Black youth are shot for something as harmless and accidental as arriving at the wrong address to pick up their younger siblings, it becomes increasingly evident that we often fail to acknowledge the profound impact of racial stress and trauma. Ralph Yarl’s story is just one among far too many where activities like walking, playing, knocking on the wrong door or simply existing while being Black can have fatal consequences (Zaru & Negussie, 2023). While we have become more accustomed to discussing stories like Ralph's, or to seeing them dominate the U.S. news cycle for days on end, we have yet to fully come to terms with the fact that the reach of racial stress and trauma extends far beyond the confines of direct involvement in a traumatic event. Merely witnessing systemic racism and oppression weighs heavily on our youth, akin to an unspoken toll or what one young person, who participated in our teams’ intervention (i.e., TRANSFORM; Lau Johnson, Saleem, Pickens & Langley, 2021) designed to heal racial stress and trauma, refers to as an invisible burden: “I knew it was there, but I didn't know that it had a specific name to it. Like putting a name to a face, I guess that kind of helped too.” What this teen describes—the ability to articulate the experience they have always felt and known to be true—is what it looks like to provide youth with the necessary tools to address racial stress and trauma. It is about the transformative process of making the invisible visible.

Genocidal Rape – An Understudied Source of Terror with Horrendous Consequences
Genocidal rape is a widespread issue in genocidal settings, but has previously received minimal scholarly attention. Consequences for victims are widespread, and include illness, psychological terror, and social exclusion. Multi-leveled supportive programs and interventions are critical in supporting victims.

A new perspective on the brain basis of PTSD in Veterans involves alterations in both fear and anxiety networks
PTSD is a common and disabling disorder that impacts many Veterans. This blog discusses our  new study examining how Veterans with PTSD respond to threat in fear and anxiety brain networks. The study findings extend the current understanding of the brain basis of PTSD to include both fear and anxiety networks and highlight new treatment targets. 

Human Rights and Policy: PTSD treatment in U.S. prisons: An urgent need to expand and Improve
StressPoints
Trauma exposure prior to incarceration is nearly ubiquitous among prisoners. In a sample of 592 incarcerated men, 99% endorsed experiencing at least one lifetime traumatic experience prior to incarceration, with 59% scoring above the clinical threshold for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) on the PCL-5 (Wolff et al., 2014). Meta-analyses on international samples show prevalence of PTSD ranged from 0.1% to 27% for male and from 12% to 38% for female prisoner populations (Baranyi et al., 2017). This stands in stark contrast to PTSD rates in the general population, which range between 3-8% (Kilpatrick et al., 2013).  

Trauma and World Literature: Blume Lempel: Survival and stimulus barrier
StressPoints

I was not born mute. My silence is not genetic. Something jammed up inside me and I stopped speaking - when and why, I no longer remember. I listen to what people say, but I cannot answer them. In my mind, I speak to the shadows that populate my world, to the wind and the rain - and to the cat living outside my door. The cat is the one who insists on the separation, not me.  

 

So begins “Even the Heavens Tell Lies,” a story written by Blume Lempel. Blume Lempel was born in 1907 in Khorostkov (now located in Ukraine), moved to Paris from where she fled at the outbreak of WWII, and lived in New York until her death in 1999. She composed only in Yiddish and was unknown to English readers until 2016 when a collection of her translated works, Oedipus in Brooklyn and Other Stories, appeared. Through stream-of-consciousness, flashbacks, and other temporal disruptions the poetic prose in her stories evokes the inner world of survivors of horror and of dislocation.