Moving from Trauma-Informed to Trauma-Resilient: The evolution of TREC
When we talk about the trauma movement, it really started a while back with the trauma-informed approach. What we heard emerging from the fields of psychology, social work, and public health was about being aware of what trauma does to the brain. To have an awareness of what trauma can do to our youth and young adults in terms of their being successful academically, in a career, and being successful in the relationships that they have both in school and outside of school.
One of the first trainings we offered before developing our current program was “Beyond Trauma-Informed.” But it soon became apparent that was not enough, and we began looking at the idea of expanding trauma education to something more than just informed. As we put a name to our new program, the solution was crystalized in an exercise where we stated the problem and then immediately noted the response. We found that, clearly and simply, resilience is the answer to trauma, and the name Trauma-Resilient Educational Communities (TREC) was born. A step up above trauma-informed.
“We found that clearly and simply:
Resilience is THE Answer to Trauma.”
— Craig Beswick
As we began talking about the ability to be resilient in the face of trauma, interesting things started to happen. We saw organizations we were working with adhere to the concept of going beyond informed and using the nomenclature: trauma-resilience. The trauma-resilience movement had taken off! We work with over 305 social service agencies; many of their case managers are in our school buildings. We realize that to take care of our students holistically, case managers and program directors also need to become trauma-resilient. Our program is tailored to serve the service providers as well as their clients. The movement has gone beyond education and into social services, healthcare, mental health, and community leadership.
The trauma-resilient movement really started with Dr. Vincent Felitti.
With Dr. Felitti's landmark study around the science of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) studied across education, prisons, and healthcare — all the types of systems we know our youth and young adults interact with. Dr. Felitti says, “When you are analyzing a complex system, it’s important to understand that you don’t focus only on the manifest problem; you must analyze every aspect of the system, even the pieces you assume are working normally.”
“When you are analyzing a complex system, it’s important to understand that you don’t focus only on the manifest problem; you must analyze every aspect of the system, even the pieces you assume are working normally.”
— Dr. Vincent Felitti
Dr. Felitti gives us a powerful example of not just focusing on the manifest problem.
Dr. Felitti tells the story of a young woman with obesity, a medical condition that is difficult to treat. A major reason, he says, is that it is not the patient’s problem. It’s the physical manifestation of the issues we typically know nothing about. He describes a young woman who was brutally assaulted and, in the subsequent year, gained over a hundred pounds. One day, she was in his office, looked down at the floor, and muttered, “Overweight is overlooked, and that’s the way I need to be.” Later, Dr. Felitti recounted, “What if we had decided the treatment was to take those 105 pounds away from the young woman? Then we have taken away her solution!”
If we are to treat obesity meaningfully, we need to look for the underlying cause and help people deal with that before we take away the manifest symptoms. It takes an extraordinary series of insights into how one goes from stressful life experiences in childhood and young adulthood to a biomedical condition that could also include all sorts of emotional disturbances.
With TREC, we are now at the forefront of the trauma movement.
We are engaging with social service agencies, healthcare operators, and entities in health and human services. Many people are interested in this, and we are gaining important buy-in. The data shows us that trauma-resilience practices take us beyond trauma-informed and gives us a framework to do something about it. We are operating from a cogent plan backed by data that can support the growth of the movement towards what we like to call a “tsunami of healing,” creating a wave of relief that our students, our clients, and our partners need.
Thank you for joining us on our journey towards greater resilience and wellness for ourselves, the people we serve, and our communities.
Warm regards,
Craig
ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT
Chelsea was shy and often bullied at school. She was awkward around her peers and never felt completely accepted.
Growing up, Chelsea Summer battled depression and eating disorders, and getting through each day was a huge challenge for her. But her life started to turn around when she enrolled in an accredited trauma-resilient school, Learn4Life. There, she was introduced to the SLAM4LIFE poetry program, which she credits with the positive changes in her life.
With help from the TREC model, Chelsea's school provided her with the support she needed to thrive.
Through her poetry, Chelsea was able to release a lot of “toxins” that had built up in her that she kept buried deep down inside. She started putting pen to paper to document her struggles and express her feelings. Writing poetry became a healing process for Chelsea. And, hearing other students share their stories, she realized she was not alone, that others shared her pain and understood. Slowly, Chelsea began to feel safe and accepted, which led her to finally share her own poetry, as well.
“This new year has gifted me with such a beautiful beginning. I am not talking about just this year but for a life where I stop just surviving and start living.”
— Chelsea Summer
After graduating from Learn4Life, Chelsea pursued her passion and auditioned to become a “Get Lit Player.” Chelsea has since transformed from mentee to mentor. She feels strongly about mental health issues and is now an advocate, through her poetry, she is shining a spotlight on the issue.
BLOG: RESILIENCE
From Trauma to Triumph: How Resilience Can Help Us Heal
“It is never too late to start building resilience, and every small step we take can make a difference in our healing journey.”
—Gabriel Núñez-Soria
Passionate Educator and School Leader,
Trauma-Resilient Professional
Trauma can leave us feeling stuck, helpless, and hopeless. But developing resilience can help us move past these feelings and find a path forward. Resilience can help us reframe our experiences, find meaning and purpose in our lives, and develop a sense of agency and control. Resilience can also help us develop healthy coping mechanisms, build strong social connections, and find hope for the future.
