Reform with Trauma in Mind: Week 7

An experience in the DCERP program that stood out to me was when the person came to one of our Tuesday discussions and educated us on ACEs and trauma-informed care. That meeting really demonstrated the importance of having officials, law enforcement personnel, and educators becoming educated on trauma. 

The person also talked about intergenerational trauma and I think this makes education around trauma that much more urgent. When traumatic experiences affect the generations of people that follow, society needs to understand the role it plays both mentally and physically. 

I am hoping during this time of social movements that reformation occurs in the justice system, adding trauma informed care workers, as well as ending mass incarceration: reducing ACEs and recidivism rates. In addition, I believe this talk was particularly important for today, because as this country and justice system moves forward toward equality, we should recognize the trauma that has been inflicted on black communities and POC through systemic racism and police brutality. If a new system forms, the trauma for many communities will still be present.

When considering the importance of this education, I was reading about different ways that healthcare workers can aid those who have experienced traumatic experiences. One relatively new way is called EMDR. The person who gave this presentation mentioned it briefly as a form of therapy that can help people with trauma. EMDR or Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing is a form of psychotherapy that allows people to process their trauma. Here a website with more information: https://www.emdria.org/about-emdr-therapy/, if anyone was curious about it when she said it.