Just as the body goes into shock after a physical trauma, so does the human psyche go into shock after the impact of a major loss.  – Anne Grant

Trauma, lets’ spell it out to help define the journey Hope House offers

T is for…terrible experience or event

After a trauma, which can take the shape of a serious injury or accident, the physical body often goes into shock: the heart beat speeds up, the body temperature drops and the pupils dilate. In the same way the mind and psyche can go into shock after a traumatic event or a sudden loss – which can be anything from experiencing violent crime, a car accident, rape or natural disaster.

What is the definition of a trauma? Trauma is defined as a deeply distressing or disturbing experience. Trauma takes place when someone “experiences a threat to life, bodily integrity, or sanity”, at least from their perspective (Pearlman & Saakvitne, 1995).

Then what is considered an unhealthy response to trauma?

A psychological trauma response most often starts within three months of the traumatic event, yet often takes years to become plain.

A trauma response is considered a totally normal reaction to a shocking event or loss, but it requires treatment if it continues for too long as it is often unpleasant for the person and can negatively impact their ability to live a full life. It can also be defined as a person’s inability to integrate his or her emotional experience with their current daily life. The more the person believes they are consistently endangered, the worse the trauma will be.

Sometimes we have seen some people traumatised by an event that has left others seemingly unaffected. Everyone responds in different ways, each person also has different support structures, beliefs and coping mechanisms that change how they respond.

R is for…re-occurring memories or dreams
How do we notice that someone is traumatised? There is one symptom that is closely connected to trauma and that is the unhealthy re-living of events, for example:

– they experience recurrent unwanted and distressing memories of the event
– they have upsetting dreams about the event
– they have flashbacks of the event as if it is actually happening
People suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD often report having flash-backs of the event, where they see a clear memory or experience the event again and again. This is generally a highly unpleasant and emotionally charged experience that can upset the whole day. Someone who is clearly re-experiencing the event may be suffering from Post Traumatic Disorder and would definitely benefit with at least one appointment with a counsellor in order to ask some key questions.

A is for…anxiety

Anxiety is a key part of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, though this may take years to show itself. A person suffering from Anxiety or anxiety disorder may struggle to fall asleep at night or struggle to get a full night’s sleep. A person experiencing anxiety is often short-tempered or irritable with others, may have repetitive negative thoughts or struggle to keep calm in stressful work environments.
Negative thoughts also often go with the anxiety. A traumatised person often battles with negative thoughts about themselves or others, may feel emotionally numb or feel hopeless about the future.

At Hope House we often start counselling adults who are showing signs of anxiety and find that unprocessed trauma that is at the root of the anxiety. Talking directly about the trauma has great power to heal the anxious symptoms.

U is for…Understanding of the event
Counselling has great power to bring added understanding to the event. Many traumatic events bring with them intense loss: this can be loss of life and the pain and loss of extreme injury. However there are many types of loss in a trauma, like the loss of innocence, loss of one’s belief in humanity, loss of trust or loss of a feeling of safety. The person suffering from trauma often shrinks back from doing what they did before – they may drive less or prefer to stay at home instead of walking outside or visiting friends. Counseling allows the client to understand the loss they are experiencing, to mourn it and to try to come to terms with their new reality. At Hope House we use play therapy and interactive methods to help our clients come to a deeper understanding of their trauma. Hope House counselors are careful to explore the event without adding their own thoughts about it – allowing the client to carefully come to a greater understanding of the event as they personally experienced it.

M is for…memories relived and renewed

People suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder after an accident, criminal act or abusive incident often need to speak about the event, again and again. A counselor encourages this process and ensures that the client has a space to heal as they speak about the event – this can be anything from a mugging to a hijacking, child-hood abuse or criminal act in the past.

A is for…Any time

The best time to receive counselling after a traumatic event – is straight away, within a day or a few days of the event. However, clients still can receive great benefit from counselling years or decades after a trauma. Child sexual abuse, criminal events, a parent’s divorce, a traumatic car accident – a whole range of trauma’s can leave effects that are only recognized years later. If left untreated trauma can be at the root of substance abuse, a personality disorder like Borderline Personality Disorder, eating disorders and depression. It still is not too late to seek help, call Hope House to book an appointment if you are struggling with a trauma that took places months, years or even decades ago.

Check out these interesting facts about Trauma…

Did you know?

You don’t need to see a traumatic even or be present at it to be negatively affected by it. For example a man could be murdered in his home, yet his sister who was not there is deeply affected and unable to leave her home due to fear of the same thing happening to her.

The news in South Africa can also be deeply traumatizing – this is called vicarious trauma. The Franzisca Blogliger murder deeply traumatised the Constantia and Tokai community due to its violent nature and fact that it took place in a public space freely used by so many families and women every day.

There are a few types of Trauma: Single blow and Repeat Trauma

Single blow trauma is like a car accident, a natural disaster, a hijacking or falling from a train; it happens once and there is not much a threat of the traumatic event repeating. Repeat trauma includes spousal abuse, verbal and emotional abuse in families and abuse in schools or homes.

Trauma has two types of causes: Natural and Man-made

Natural causes of trauma are severe illness, natural disasters or accidents like a fall down Table Mountain while hiking or even a car accident where no driver was clearly negligent. Trauma survivors are far worse affected by traumas that are man-made – caused by the deliberate criminal or malicious action of another person. Where the perpetrator is close to the trauma survivor the damage has been shown to be far worse.

The psychological effects of trauma are worse if the trauma is:

Human caused, unpredictable, occurs in childhood and are perpetrated by a caregiver. These factors all play a role in ensuring that trauma leaves more negative effects in the trauma survivor.

If you or someone you care about has gone through a trauma or you feel someone you know is showing signs of trauma or PTSD, please contact Hope House for an assessment or to see when a counsellor is available.

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In collaboration with the Kind-Heart-Bench-Project

Article by Judy Strickland, Director of Hope House Counselling Centre, originally appeared on the Happy Tails website (https://www.happytailsmagazine.co.za/happy-tales/holly-from-rescue-pup-to-emotional-support-dog/)

The latest Child Gauge, published by the University of Cape Town Children’s Institute, found that 33% of South African children are victims of sexual and physical abuse. This Human Right’s Day, local NGO Hope House Counselling Centre has emphasised the importance of safeguarding children’s rights through strengthening family units.

“When abuse is taking place in the home, or family members are not aware of how to be supportive, children do not get the help that they need. This can have long-lasting effects on the child’s psychological, educational and social development,” says Judy Strickland, child counsellor and founder of Hope House.

Young children can only access support services and the courts with assistance from a trusted adult – often the first port of call is a family member, yet, not all families are equipped to handle a report of abuse from a child; “Children are among the most vulnerable members of society and are dependent on their families, schools and the government for protection,” says Strickland. “If we are to address the high rates of child abuse, this is where we need to intervene.”

Interventions in family life have been shown to reduce the occurrence of abuse and neglect. Research in the United States shows lower rates of substance abuse in communities with family programmes. Studies have also shown that fathers who are involved in their children’s lives from birth are less likely to abuse them later on in life, with the simple intervention of involving fathers early on having a longlasting positive effect on the child’s upbringing.

Adapting this knowledge to a local context, Hope House has run Strengthening Families workshops in community centres and schools around the city. Strickland and her team work with families to address broken communication, trust and stability.

“Family members gain a greater understanding of what is expected of them within the unit. This means that when a child is in trouble, they have a safe place to turn to and seek advice and help,” she says. Participants in the programme report that they gain greater empathy with other family members.

Hope House Counselling Centre has been offering donation-based counselling services to the Cape Town community for 14 years. Their counsellors see people from as young as three years of age at the centres in Bergvliet, Kuilsrivier and Table View. Hope House, offers training in the Strengthening Families program to NGOs, churches, and organizations who would like to run this programme in their communities.

Children as young as six are exposed to and experimenting with substances like alcohol, dagga and glue. During Drug Awareness Week, which runs this week from 24 to 28 June, Hope House Counselling Centre is creating awareness around the impact that substances have on young people. The Cape Town based non-profit organisation runs prevention and intervention programmes at primary and high schools.

“Studies have found that drug and alcohol use damages children’s growing brains; sometimes permanently. Many drugs effect an area called the pre-frontal cortex, which is involved in decision-making, social behaviour and learning,” says Judy Strickland, a child counsellor and the founder of Hope House.

According to the counselling centre, in order to understand the long-term consequences of drug use, parents, teachers and learners need to know about the impact that substances have on the brain. “Decision-making is a crucial part of psychological development, success at school, and making healthy choices in youth and adulthood is compromised through drug and alcohol use,” says Strickland.

Contributing to the problem is that many children who test positive for drug use are suspended from school; “These students are sent back home; this is often where they are exposed to substances. Positive intervention, through a school run programme, is more likely to have a longer-term impact on vulnerable youth,” says Strickland.

Addressing this, Hope House runs intervention programmes with children and teens across Cape Town, as well as informative sessions for parents and families. “Many learners live in highly stressful circumstances in which they are routinely exposed to alcohol, dagga and other drugs. In some communities, the need to intervene is not just in the individual’s life, but also the lives of their families too,” says Strickland.

Hope House runs a 12-week Community based treatment programme with at-risk learners to teach them about the impact of drugs on their brains and bodies. They are taught skills to resist starting drug use, as well as coping mechanisms to help them stop using drugs use and to recognise triggers. The programme includes one-on-one counselling sessions and group workshops. Hope House also runs a Strengthening Families programme in communities known to have high levels of substance use.

Most abused children are harmed by a relative or someone they know. The University of Cape Town’s Children’s Institute found this to be true in 80% abuse cases where the victim was under four years of age. In light of this, local NGO Hope House has put a spotlight on families during the 16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children, which runs from 25 November to 10 December.

“Many children are first exposed to abuse in the home, which has a lasting impact on them as they grow up and can lead them to become perpetrators of violence against others,” says Judy Strickland, child counsellor and founder of Hope House, a local non-profit organisation that offers donationbased counselling and runs community and schools workshops across Cape Town.

Even small interventions in family life have been shown to have an impact, with studies in the States showing that fathers who are involved in their babies’ lives from birth are less likely to commit abuse. Programmes that teach and encourage empathetic and supportive parenting, better communication, conflict resolution and nonviolent discipline to the whole family can lower rates of aggression, mental disorder and substance abuse amongst youth.

Strickland has adapted one such programme, called Strengthening Families, to the South African context. Hope House runs this eight-week workshop with families in communities with high rates of violence, gangsterism and substance abuse. The course uses role-playing, games and communication exercises to encourage empathy and greater stability within the family unit. “It is one of the most effective programmes we have come across, with participants reporting greater empathy and deeper understanding of their roles within the family unit at the end,” she says.

The team of volunteer counsellors and facilitators at Hope House share a vision to break cycles of violence. Through regular Strengthening Families workshops, child and adult counselling services as well as youth programmes, they hope to address past traumas and teach positive relationship skills.

Individuals (all ages) and families are welcome to attend counselling at the centres in Bergvliet, Kuilsrivier and Table View throughout the year, donating only what they can afford towards the running costs.. For more information contact Hope House on 081 500 3054 or visit www.hopehouse.org.za.