(Part 1 of Trauma '24 & more series)
To all who are drowning, swimming, floating, or gliding in the wake of painful and uncertain histories:
This blog and the posts to follow are for you. I am writing a new book and decided to share snippets of significant bits of insight, knowledge, experience, and newly revealed information here in digestible chunks.
The title of this blog series is Trauma’24 because we are hosting a trauma conference in South Africa on 4 and 5 October of which the goal is to gather and present the core of the latest approaches to and understanding of the lifelong effects of trauma on the developing brain. Three of the world’s trauma experts, Sebern Fisher, Professor Ruth Lanius, and Dr Frank Corrigan, will be in the same conversation about the techniques and therapy models -based on fMRI studies as well as anecdotal evidence- that address the after-effects of trauma at the level of the brain.
The goal of my new book is also that- to rake in and integrate the kernel principal components of evidence-based and theory-based approaches to trauma treatment that are revealed through in-depth literature reviews, research investigations and evidence, experience, and deep reflection. This is a mammoth task. In different countries in Africa, we are often in the dark, literally, due to energy deficits. The experience can be overwhelming-especially when the blackout was not announced, and the heat is unbearable. When one sees workers at the sub-stations in workwear and with appropriate tools, the lived experience changes. One is no longer alone in the dark. May the readers of these blog posts at least experience that: you are not alone in unchartered waters. There are dedicated, compassionate and attuned hearts and minds committed to mapping routes for good clinical practice – lifeboats for those lost and alone in the vast landscape of emptiness and desperation which is the aftermath of neglect, abandonment, and abuse.
The next blog post will be on beginning to understand the core of developmental trauma and why your history is not yet your history but your lived experience- showing up in a myriad ways.
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