I believe that anyone who aspires to support families in the Focus Group needs to be familiar with Trauma and Related Topics (and their effects on us).
I propose that they are causative factors in respect of all sorts of violence in society. In this, I regard any denial of rights to be violence, and physical violence is not the only type of violence. All criminal behaviour, even what we sometimes describe as petty crime almost always involves violence.
(Of course trauma and related topics may not be the only causes of violence in society, but for the purposes of children growing up in families in the Focus Group – they are, I believe, the most important).
It is interesting that it was because of experiences of wartime violence that trauma and its aftermath – i.e. its long-term effects on our mind and body – began to be taken seriously by clinicians and mental health practitioners – in the Western World anyway. This interest began initially with soldiers returning from World War One, but increased substantially after the Vietnam War. Its relevance to early experiences in childhood within the home and its subsequent connection to criminality followed.
Attachment is dealt with in some depth in many courses and training in this field, and because it has relevance in respect of trauma, I include a brief description of it.
Dissociation is related to trauma so I spend some time describing that, and the connection that narcissism (both vulnerable and grandiose) has to all the above warrants its inclusion also.
All the topics in this Chapter are intimately concerned with:
~ Problems or dysfunctions not only among people who go to prison but, if we think about it deeply, in humanity in general;
And
~ Processes that bring about healing, recovery, integration and wellness.
Another reason why it is necessary to acknowledge the harmful effects of all the above phenomena is that they are often what frighten off not only people who work in the Pillars, but many people who are not prepared for it in voluntary organisations and who begin the work with great enthusiasm and commitment, idealism and ambition.
I will discuss the parallel process whereby trauma seeps into teams and may show itself as cliquish behaviour, bullying, vindictiveness, territorialism, furtiveness, and fear.
All of these cause, in turn, constant, time-and-energy-wasting conflict that never seems to get satisfactorily resolved, and gets in the way of the effective transfer of theory into practice on the ground, which is a particular challenge. (I will explore this topic in more detail in the Chapter on Research and Evaluation).
There may also be expectations (from funders, headquarters, etc.) in respect of outcomes and goals, (perfectly reasonable and attainable in other contexts, e.g. mainstream schools, scouts, sports clubs etc.), which cannot be applied in the context of an entity within which a critical mass of people have suffered trauma.
The gap between unrealistic expectations and reality on the ground also causes conflict. and I will discuss this in the next Chapter, on Modalities).