Befriending The Tiger: Vicarious Trauma, Resilience And Self-Care On The Frontline

Description

Mental health professionals working with complex trauma engage with clients in intensely intimate and long-term therapy. Lawyers, corrections services staff, prison officers, magistrates and judges also come into daily contact with highly traumatised individuals who are victims and perpetrators, oftentimes both. Over time, confronting stories and challenging presentations can take a toll. Now in the fourth year of the COVID19 pandemic, mental health professionals, legal professionals, clients and the population in general are experiencing heightened feelings of exhaustion and ‘pandemic fatigue’. Clinicians and legal professionals, experienced and new to the field, are sharing that their usual levels of robustness and resilience is sometimes flagging. This is understandable. We are all going through the same uncertainties and anxieties related to the rolling impacts of the pandemic in addition to demanding and challenging work.

Vicarious trauma, secondary traumatic stress, compassion fatigue and burn-out are different but may co-occur. Grief adds another dimension of complexity. Impacts are often cumulative and if unaddressed, affect emotional, mental, physical, and spiritual wellbeing, personal relationships and professional capacity.

Bearing witness to the suffering of others can shift and change our world view, leading to a reassessment of assumptions about personal safety and the safety of loved ones. At times, it may precipitate an existential crisis. Support to address the impact of your work on your health and wellbeing is a vital aspect of professional rights and personal responsibilities.

It is also true that our work is inspiring and filled with a profound sense of meaning and purpose. Walking alongside clients while they navigate the road to healing inspires hope, awe and faith in the strength and depth of the human spirit. Vicarious resilience describes therapists and legal professionals parallel process of personal growth and self-discovery.

This four-part interactive webinar series combines presentation, discussion and experiential exercises, providing a safe, confidential forum to explore the interaction between you and your work. You will develop a personalised ‘tool kit’ for self-care and strategies to safeguard and enhance resilience.  Details of cases will not be discussed.

Prior to Part 1 of the workshop series, you will receive a Vicarious Trauma, Compassion Fatigue and Burn-out assessment and Vicarious Trauma checklist, to complete and use as your personal guide during the training. Each session will have accompanying handouts and exercises.

To ensure confidentiality, Naomi will host each session (no external event manager will be present). Sessions will be recorded and links to the recordings provided for participants only. These sessions will not be available for On-Demand purchase.

On conclusion of the series, participants who wish to remain connected can provide written consent to share email contacts to keep in touch and form your own ‘Buddy System’ support network. There is no requirement or expectation to do so.

Session 1:

  • Opening reflection
  • Vicarious Trauma – Secondary Traumatic Stress – Compassion Fatigue – Burnout – Grief
  • Risk and Resilience Factors
  • Post-traumatic transference and countertransference
  • Identifying signs and symptoms
  • Self-care iceberg
  • Four Aspects of Self: Mind | Emotion | Body | Meaning and the Triune brain
  • Closing meditation

Session 2:

  • Opening reflection
  • Aspects of Self – Mind: Monkey mind, personalised stress profile, self-care plan, mindfulness, supervision
  • Aspects of Self – Emotion: Empathy vs Compassion, honouring your feelings
  • Self-care goal related to Mind and Emotion
  • Closing meditation

Session 3: 

  • Opening reflection
  • Aspects of Self – Body: Stress response, gut health, sleep hygiene
  • Aspects of Self – Meaning: Bigger picture, choosing battles, reaffirming
  • Self-care goal related to Body and Meaning
  • Closing meditation

Session 4: 

  • Opening reflection
  • Review of Self-care goals
  • Review VT support sessions
  • Resilience and Post-traumatic growth
  • Buddy system ideas
  • Closing meditation

 

Here is what past participants have to say about Vicarious Trauma training with Naomi:

“Thank you so much for the Befriending the tiger course, it was fantastic!”
Nurse Practitioner, Mental Health

“This course has been so important to me and I’ve found that it’s actually changed the way in which I’m approaching a lot of things. I’m not only more conscious of what’s going on that will affect me, but I’m taking more responsibility for making judgements about what I will, or won’t do in situations, or strategizing how situations can be accommodated.”

Counsellor

“Thought it was excellent – the content was great, the right balance of theory and practical with really good strategies, and Naomi was a great presenter.”
Lawyer

“Thanks so much for all your work and wisdom.”
Psychologist

“It was terrific and Naomi is a terrific presenter.  I was already aware of some of the material but I found her presentation style to be one where you could readily understand and retain the information.”
Lawyer

 

Course Certificate

To generate your course completion certificate, please enter your details in the form below and a copy of your certificate will be emailed to you shortly. 

About Naomi Halpern

Naomi trained as a social worker in the UK. Early in her career she worked with children in short-term emergency care, homeless youth, and convicted offenders in government and non-government organisations. She provided advocacy, psychosocial education, recreational opportunities, skills training, supervision and counselling. She holds a Grad. Cert. Human Rights and is a certified QPR trainer (suicide prevention).

In 1987, Naomi went into partnership at The Delphi Centre, now known as Delphi Training and Consulting. She has expertise in working with adult sequelae of childhood abuse, neglect, attachment disruptions and dissociative disorders.

Naomi provides clinical consultation for mental health professionals working with adult victim-survivors of familial trauma, intergenerational trauma, gender-based violence, and other trauma. Consultation specialties include complex post-traumatic stress, dissociative disorders, self-harming behaviour, suicidality and substance abuse. She has a wealth of experience working with people across socioeconomic groups, faiths, and sexual orientation.

Since 2009, Naomi has been a consultant to the United Nations developing and delivering a broad range of trauma informed programs to personnel in missions and duty stations around the world. She developed a Gatekeeper suicide prevention training for Safety and Security Services and trauma informed awareness training for the Office of the Special Coordinator on improving the UN’s response to Sexual Exploitation and Abuse, the Ombudsman and Ethics Units and Human Resources and Services Department.

She is a consultant and trainer for law firms and government agencies providing trauma informed training and reducing psychosocial risks to support mental health and wellbeing.

A skilled speaker and trainer, Naomi presents training about complex and developmental trauma, vicarious trauma, resilience building and workplace wellbeing through Delphi and United Nations, in-person and online across all Australian States and Territories – African Continent – Canada – Denmark – Germany – India – Italy – Lebanon – New Zealand – Romania – Thailand – United States

She was a founding member of The Australian Association of Trauma and Dissociation Inc. in 1992 (amalgamated with the Australasian Association of Traumatic Stress Studies in 1996) Naomi served on the Executive Committee and Conference Committee from 1991 – 1996, and as Treasurer from 1992 – 1995.

A founding member and spokesperson for an action group for victims of white collar crime, Naomi was an advocate for victims of deceptive and misleading financial advice, providing submissions and testimony to senate committees and inquiries. She worked closely with parliamentarians across political parties and the media, lobbying for changes needed in the industry and legislation.

She is co-author with Dr Colin A. Ross, (2009) Trauma Model Therapy: A Treatment Approach for Trauma, Dissociation and Complex ComorbidityManitou Inc. and two studies about Maladaptive daydreaming.

Naomi is a Fellow of the International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation (2017) and recipient of the Distinguished Achievement Award (2022).

 

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Part 1 Befriending the TigerNaomi Halpern

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