Week 7: The importance of Trauma Informed Practice

The DCERP experience that sticks out to me the most is when Dr. Custer talked with us about Trauma Informed Practice. I took a class about trauma informed practice and I’m working towards a mini certification for it through the school of ed. The class and certification is a collaboration between the school of ed, school of nursing, and school of social work. The idea behind it is to inform future educators, nurses, and social workers of the various things that may go on beneath the surface for the individuals they’ll be working with. I found this information to be really useful when working with students in my practicum during the last school year. And I find it really useful now as I interact with students and their families for Brilliant Detroit’s virtual tutoring program. This is especially useful to have in mind for a city like Detroit that is disproportionately being impacted by Covid-19. Dr. Custer explored one aspect of being trauma informed more in detail, specifically ACEs. We explored ACEs in my class, but I still learned a lot of things from Dr. Custer that we didn’t talk about in my class— the big thing I remember sticking in my mind was the information about intergenerational pain. I had never connected that idea to ACEs even though the connection is pretty obvious when you think about it. I also found myself reflecting a lot on the things I learned in my class as well. Overall, it was a really interesting experience to revisit this topic within a different context with people who have varying familiarities with the topic. When we were placed in breakout rooms to discuss ACEs and how they’re relevant to our placements, the conversations my group and I were really enlightening; we not only reflecting on our understanding of how ACEs work on an individual level but also within specific communities and how some communities face ACEs in different ways than others. I think of all the guest speakers we’ve had, this is one I remember the most because it’s a topic you can so directly apply to any site and experience. I also think we don’t talk enough about trauma informed practice as much as we should for work regarding the social sphere despite how relevant it is— after all, it is a major talking point how many states don’t mandate being trauma informed when working with people in the service sector. I’d also add that perhaps the lack of discussion on trauma informed practice also speaks to the fact our society doesn’t give much attention to the everlasting impacts of trauma. As of now, I find myself thinking about the prevalence of punishment in our society and its accompanying social systems and how it supersedes the need for rehabilitation. Just as much as ACEs can be considered on an individual level, the same goes for its operations on a community and even systemic level.