Transcript Trauma coaching-Trainer Anca Bucur

Trauma recovery coaching
Anca Bucur
Psychologist, psychotherapist
24 – 25 February 2015
Patterns of thinking - feeling –behavior
on refugee population
 Loneliness
 Guilt
 Inadequate in the new culture
 Helplessness, hopelessness
 Sense of loosing identity
 Felling uprooted
 Disoriented, feeling lost
 Mental blocked, freeze
 Mental and emotional confusion
 Mistrust, suspicious
 Feeling vulnerable, weak;
Traumas which can be found among
refugees people
 Mutilating traditional practices (eg. female genital
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mutilation)
Domestic violence tolerated or social encouraged;
Violence acts made by the police, judges and other state’s
authorities ;
Forced abortions (to have only boys) or forced pregnancies;
Trafficking, prostitution and rape (intra-familial, criminal or
mass);
Extreme violence in conflict situations (using women as
living shields or "tools" for demining);
Physical or psychological torture.
Psychological torture methods
Improper detention conditions;
Deprivation of normal sensory stimulation,
Humiliation,
Threats to: personal/family death, family injury, future torture,
imprisonment, mock executions;
 Psychological techniques to crash the human personality, ex.
forced betrayals, impossible choices, getting used to the feeling of
helplessness, exposure to ambiguous situations or contradictory
messages;
 Taboos violation and punish some behaviors such as the use of
practices against one's religious believes (eg forcing Muslims to eat
pork);
 Forced to assisting at the torture and other atrocities being
inflicted on others human beans.
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Psychological consequences of trauma
- symptoms  Reliving the traumas / flashbacks;
 Avoidance behaviors and emotional anesthesia;
 Hyperexcitability;
 Sleep disorders;
 Depressive symptoms ;
 Distortion the self image;
 Dissociation, depersonalization;
 Somatic complaints;
 Sexual dysfunction;
 Psychosis;
 Substance Abuse.
Possible diagnosis
 Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD);
 Depression;
 Generalized Anxiety – excessive anxiety in relation to events or
activities;
 Panic attacks - recurrent and unexpected attacks of intense
fear or discomfort, which involves symptoms such as
sweating, choking, trembling, rapid heart rate, dizziness or
chills.
 Phobias - social, agoraphobia, etc.
Avoiding re-traumatization during
coaching sessions
 Creating an ambience that inspires safety;
 Show empathy towards the client’s experiences and cultural
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environment of origin country;
Explain the goals and the conduct of the session;
Setting the limits of confidentiality;
Giving breaks or postpone the session if need;
Select very careful the interpreter;
Finish the meeting in a positive/optimistic manner;
Directions to follow in trauma coaching
- elements of recovery –
 Hope - Finding and nurturing hope is a key to recovery;
 Secure base – Appropriate housing, a sufficient income, freedom
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from violence and adequate access to health care;
Self - Recovery of a durable sense of self (if it had been lost or
taken away) is an important element;
Supportive relationships - A common aspect of recovery is
the presence of others who believe in the person's potential to
recover and who stand by them;
Empowerment and Inclusion
Coping strategies - The development of personal coping
strategies (including self-management or self-help);
Meaning - Developing a sense of meaning and overall purpose;
Few methods / exercise use in trauma
coaching
 “Wheel of Life” - help the client to look at all areas of their life and
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consider them each in turn, allowing to see what is off balance
“Understanding Emotions” – Put the clients in contact with their
emotions;
“What DoYou Like About Me?” – Help clients to discover their
strengths, skills, qualities and personality preferences ;
“Daily Diary” - A way for clients to see themselves moving
forward;
“How weView theWorld” – How the mind delete, distort and
generalize information both on a conscious and unconscious level;
What are your Limiting Beliefs? - In order to move forward the client
need to understand his /her own beliefs and which beliefs are
limiting;