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Panel | Healthy Connections Mitigate Trauma

Thu, June 16, 4:20 to 5:40pm, Richmond Building, University of Portsmouth, RB 2.02

Session Submission Type: Panel

Short Description

Organizations and communities can suffer from trauma (Hormann and Vivian, 2005). The pandemic has added stress and, in many situations, a level of trauma to organizations and communities. Connection and caring for one another are key to health and building resilience. Leaders need to remain rigorously optimistic about collaboration and maintaining strong boundaries as well as maintaining “a non-anxious presence" (Friedman, 1985, p. 39) to avoid being swept up in unhealthy dynamics. Developing structures to deal with conflict helps to reduce anxiety contagion (Hormann and Vivian, 2005). Finally, individuals, organizations, and communities need replenish themselves and collectively engage in meaning-making.

Detailed Abstract

Organizations and communities, just as individuals, can suffer from trauma (Hormann and Vivian, 2005). The pandemic has added stress and, in many situations, a level of trauma to organizations and communities.

Judith Herman (1997) noted that the typical response to atrocities such as sexual assault, domestic violence, and war is to not think about them. However, minimizing and denying the infections and death rates from the pandemic are not working as the impacts from the pandemic are highly visible, including staff illness and turnover. Individuals and teams have suffered loss of colleagues and loved ones. Due to the high infectious rates of COVID strains, many individuals have worked remotely during the past two years and lost on-going connection with companions and colleagues.

Connection and caring for one another are key to health and building resilience. Systems tend to close down when under threat, shutting out essential external relationships and putting stress on internal relationships. We know that for individuals “good connections and social support can improve health and increase longevity” (www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/the-health-benefits-of-strong-relationships). Individual connections strengthen our communities and our organizations. Ask members of your team, How have you shown care for a teammate in the past week? An act of mindful caring may elevate emotional health for the giver and the receiver.

Leaders need to remain rigorously optimistic about collaboration and maintaining strong boundaries. It is also important that leaders "maintain a non-anxious presence" (Friedman, 1985, p. 39) to avoid being swept up in unhealthy dynamics. Developing structures to deal with conflict is helpful to reduce stress and anxiety contagion (Hormann and Vivian, 2005). Finally, individuals, organizations, and communities need ways to replenish themselves and collectively engage in meaning-making.

We will discuss with participants our experiences of connection in the face of trauma. Our perspectives include immigration trauma, crisis organizations and first responder units, and engaging in communities of practice.

Kristin Cox, MA, has worked with the United States Coast Guard as a civilian, providing counseling and consultation for over 25 years around sexual assault, domestic violence, suicide prevention, and critical incident debrief.

Kadar Gumus, MS, Fairfax County Council to End Domestic Violence, has researched and published about immigration trauma, marginalization, and resilience. The LA Times featured an article about a book she co-authored, “60 Jahre – Wie Deutschland zur Heimat wurde” (No longer guests: Germans of Turkish descent are finding greater acceptance at last).

Shana Hormann, MSW, PhD, has over 30 years’ experience providing training and consultation for nonprofit organizations, tribal communities, law enforcement, and government agencies. Shana also coaches leaders for their own professional development and the development of their organizations. Her co-authored book, Organizational Trauma and Healing, focuses on organizational trauma in non-profit organizations. Dr. Hormann is Professor Emerita with Antioch University and has served as faculty with the University of Alaska Southeast-Juneau, University of Washington-Seattle, and the Muckleshoot Tribal College on the Muckleshoot tribe’s reservation.

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