How Communities, Families and Professionals Can Help
For some veterans, the war hasn’t ended. . .
For some children, the abuse hasn’t ended. . .
For some rescue workers, the disaster hasn’t ended. . .
For some victims, the sexual or domestic violence hasn’t ended. . .
Presented by:
Samaritan Counseling CenterSponsored by:
YWCA Sexual Assault Prevention & Counseling Center
Lancaster General
Lancaster County MH/MR/EI
Mental Health America
Opening Keynote by Dr. Sandra Bloom
Since most of us are usually nonviolent, there must be factors in our social environment that protect us against violence, similar to the way our immune systems protect us from pathogens. Creating nonviolent environments in our communities and institutions requires us to identify those factors and increase them; to understand what health and safety really mean; and then to commit ourselves to achieving it. In this presentation, Dr. Bloom will discuss how we may inadvertently support a culture of violence, and how we can begin to create nonviolent, safe environments for healing and for living.
Dr. Bloom is a psychiatrist and the President and CEO of Community Works, a systems consulting firm. Dr. Bloom served as Founder and Executive Director of the Sanctuary programs from 1980-2001, inpatient psychiatric programs for the treatment of trauma-related disorders. An internationally known author and lecturer, Dr. Bloom has dedicated her life to the study and treatment of traumatic stress disorders. She is a Past-President of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (ISTSS) and of the Philadelphia Physicians for Social responsibility. In 1998, she received the Sarah Haley Award for Clinical Excellence from the ISTSS.
To access Dr. Sandra Bloom’s keynote address “Developing Healthy Systems and Communities in a Traumatized World”, go to www.sanctuaryweb.com, click on “Handouts" and then beside "Lancaster Community Talk, September 27, Eden Resort Inn".
Living with PTSD: What it is, and How to Help
For a copy of this presentation, please click here.
"What should I do if he's having a flashback?” “She keeps me awake at night with her bad dreams.”“ I want to help him, but he seems so detached." Posttraumatic Stress Disorder not only affects survivors of trauma, but family, friends and those around us. Basic education about traumatic stress response is essential for all of us, given the prevalence of violence and the millions that suffer from trauma related conditions. Family, friends and others can play a vital role in helping those in our community who have experienced or been exposed to various types of violence. In this workshop, Dr. Bloom demystifies PTSD, explains different aspects and stages of treatment, and offers strategies for managing symptoms.
Dr. Sandra Bloom
President and CEO, Community Works
Learning Objectives:
1) Participants will be able to describe the basic symptoms of PTSD
2) Participants will be able to discuss the ways in which trauma changes the body’s reaction to overwhelming stress
3) Participants will be able to describe some basic psychological “first aid” for helping people who have experienced trauma
Dr. Sandra Bloom is a psychiatrist and the President and CEO of Community Works, a systems consulting firm. Dr. Bloom served as Founder and Executive Director of the Sanctuary programs from 1980-2001, inpatient psychiatric programs for the treatment of trauma-related disorders. She is a Past-President of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (ISTSS) and in 1998 received the Sarah Haley Award for Clinical Excellence from the ISTSS. She is the Past-President of the Philadelphia chapter of Physicians for Social Responsibility and during her tenure helped to develop award winning domestic violence training programs for health care settings. In 1999-2000 she chaired the Task Force on Family Violence for Attorney General of Pennsylvania, Mike Fisher. From 1998-2001 Dr. Bloom served as the Saul Z. Cohen Chair at the Jewish Board of Family and Children’s Services in New York, introducing the Sanctuary concepts to a large residential program for children and adolescents in Hawthorne, New York.
She is the author of Creating Sanctuary: Toward the Evolution of Sane Societies, and co-author of Bearing Witness: Violence and Collective Responsibility. She speaks nationally and internationally about the impact of traumatic experience on individuals, families, organizations, and cultures.
The 4-Fold Impact of Trauma
For a copy of this presentation, please click here.
A traumatic experience is a life-changing event that forces us to rework our view of ourselves and the world. The pathway to healing is difficult, requiring transformation and integration of the traumatic event. This workshop will provide an overview of the impact of trauma on the individual’s self-identity, interpersonal relationships, assumptions about the world, and physiological reactions to ongoing stress. Specific attention will be given to behavioral, biological, cognitive, and emotional responses, and the accompanying process of grief and loss. This workshop also incorporates the impact of trauma on those who work with victims and the importance of intentional self-care.
Diane Zanetti, M.Div., M.S.
Director of Counseling Services, Berks Women in Crisis
Learning Objectives:
1) Introduce the 4-fold impact of trauma and implications for responders
2) Highlight the significance of trauma-related grief
3) Describe vicarious traumatization and its impact on professionals working with trauma victims and their families
Diane holds a Masters degree in counseling and theology, a Masters degree in counseling psychology, and is currently a doctoral student in clinical psychology doing research on bereavement. Her graduate training and experience is in the area of grief, loss, and trauma. She leads staff trainings, conducts workshops for community agencies, provides individual therapy and group counseling, and leads a group at the Caron Foundation for adolescents with a history of sexual abuse. She is responsible for supervising counseling staff and graduate interns, and assists agency staff in processing the impact of vicarious traumatization.
At the Intersection of Trauma and Addiction
For a copy of this presentation, please click here.
This workshop will address the relationship between trauma and addiction, addressing both how addiction increases a person’s vulnerability to be traumatized as well as how addiction is a response to psychological trauma. Dr. Van Deusen will identify how addiction is a coping response to dysregulated affect, negative self-worth, and impaired relational capacities. She will also outline a bio-psycho-social-spiritual treatment model that addresses how to treat trauma and addiction as co-occurring disorders.
Stephanie Van Deusen, Ph.D.
Samaritan Counseling Center
Learning Objectives:
1) Review literature addressing the interplay between trauma and substance abuse
2) Present a trauma treatment model that addresses both the sequelae of trauma and the addiction processes
3) Discuss how to incorporate trauma therapy and the 12 Step model in a way that promotes a holistic recovery process
Stephanie holds a Ph.D. in Counseling from Loyola College in Maryland. She holds a Masters in Science in Counseling from Loyola College and a Bachelor’s of Arts Degree in Psychology with a minor in Family Studies from Messiah College. She is a licensed Professional Counselor and a Nationally Certified Counselor. She trained under the direct supervision of Dr. Christine Courtois for one year in a Partial Day Hospital for Posttraumatic Stress Disorders. She completed a second year of training under Dr. Courtois and Dr. Joan Turkus specializing in the treatment of severe Dissociative disorders. Stephanie’s doctoral research looks at the impact of psychological trauma and one’s attachment to God on psychological well-being. Her extensive experience working with trauma survivors also includes working with children with attachment related disorders and women with substance use disorders. She also specializes in working with therapists dealing with vicarious traumatization and burn-out issues. Her theoretical approach to counseling incorporates a psychodynamic/object relations model with cognitive/behavioral interventions.
The Three R's of Trauma: Recognize, Respond and Refer in the School Setting
For a copy of this presentation, please click here.
This workshop will define trauma from a neurological, emotional, cognitive, and behavioral perspective in order to help education professionals learn to recognize symptoms that might suggest a student has suffered a significant trauma. The presentation will include strategies for making classroom adaptations for such students and assist teachers, school counselors, and administrators to recognize when a student’s needs are greater than can be met solely within the classroom.
John S. Tardibuono, Ed.D. Licensed Psychologist/Certified School Psychologist
Supervisor, Institute for Children and Families
Learning Objectives:
1) Describe the neurological/brain changes and symptoms associated with trauma
2) Understand how these symptoms manifest in school
3) Develop strategies for responding to trauma-driven symptoms and behaviors
4) Recognize when mental health referral is needed.
John is trained/certified as a mental health first responder by NOVA and CISM. He is also certified in EMDR, Neurobiofeedback, and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. He served as Crisis Team Coordinator for the School District of Lancaster for 20 years. He volunteered as a stress de-briefer at Nickel Mines following the Amish school shooting, and volunteered as a mental health consultant in New Orleans after hurricane Katrina.
When the Soldier Comes Home: The Impact of PTSD on Relationships
For a copy of this presentation, please click here.
Returning soldiers with PTSD often experience negative and enduring problems in their intimate, social and work relationships. They may become irritable, experience panic attacks, and suffer from physical symptoms. A sense of anguish, despair, vulnerability and mistrust can become pervasive. Survivors may become emotionally detached and withdraw from daily activities, using drugs or alcohol to self-medicate. This can lead to legal and financial hardship or problems on the job, compounding the stress. In this workshop, participants will learn the challenges of reintegration into civilian life, and how to access and utilize resources for returning soldiers and National Guard.
Jan B. Yupcavage, M.S.
Department of Veterans Affairs Harrisburg Vet Center
Learning Objectives:
1) Understand why and how war trauma impacts relationships
2) Know how to access and utilize resources for returning soldiers and National Guard
3) Understand the challenges of reintegration into civilian life
Jan B. Yupcavage, is team leader of the Department of Veterans Affairs Harrisburg Vet Center – a specialty program initiated to provide PTSD treatment to war theater veterans. He is a recognized expert and interactive lecturer on the life-altering consequences of trauma and has devoted the last 26 years at the Vet Center helping veterans and their families.
The Person with Two Brains: Connecting the Mind and Body Effects of Trauma
No Handout or Presentation Available
Research on traumatic exposure has shown both psychological and physiological effects. We know that people can have a normal stress response syndrome to traumatic events. However, some people for various reasons will have prolonged posttraumatic stress symptoms which affect them both mentally and physically. This workshop focuses on recognizing the normal stress response as well as the factors that contribute to a prolonged stress response. Dr. Lyndra Bills will offer insight on how trauma may affect the mind and the body, and ways to integrate treatment to reduce some of the more chronic health problems. Participants will learn how trauma brings about neurochemical changes in the brain, and gain an understanding of the importance of integrating treatment to repair some of the original effects of trauma.
Lyndra J. Bills, MD
Medical Director, Mental Health Services, Lancaster General
Learning Objectives:
1) Participants will gain basic understanding of the human stress response.
2) Participants will be able to understand why trauma causes an interruption in mental and physical processes.
3) Participants will gain awareness about how integrating treatment approaches can improve function in people exposed to trauma.
Dr. Bills is a Board-Certified psychiatrist trained in both psychiatry and internal medicine with fellowship training in psychotraumatology. She became Medical Director of Mental Health Services at Lancaster General Health System in 2004. Prior to joining Lancaster General, she practiced in the Philadelphia area including Medical Director for the Sanctuary Program from 1996-1999. The Sanctuary Model (see http://www.sanctuaryweb.com) represents a trauma informed method for creating or changing an organizational culture in order to more effectively provide a cohesive context within which healing from psychological and social traumatic experience be addressed. Dr. Bills introduced innovative trauma-specific therapeutic techniques into the Sanctuary program when it was at Friend’s Hospital, including video dialogue and Trauma Art™, a cognitive behavioral narrative exposure technique used to help people gain mastery over traumatic experiences. Trauma Art™ has been used extensively by Dr. Bills as well as many clinicians she has trained. It has been developed as a tool to “bridge the black hole” of trauma using a very structured yet simple process to connect the verbal and nonverbal aspects of the brain.
Creating a Power-fully Safe Space for Trauma Survivors
For a copy of this handout, please click here.
Trauma survivors need counselors and advocates who will allow them to re-gain power and control. Participants will learn practical techniques to establish an environment where clients can feel they are in the driver’s seat in their trauma processing and healing. Drawing from solutions-focused, empowerment, and play therapies, we will explore ways to assist children, teens and adults on their chosen path of healing. This workshop offers fresh ideas for beginners and refresher ideas for seasoned clinicians.
Anita L. Pilkerton-Plumb, MSW, LCSW
Weigel Counseling Associates
Learning Objectives:
1) Understand the power dynamic between counselor and survivor, and how to safely create shifts in power to the survivor.
2) Know basic skills to give the survivor power during disclosures and mandated reporting of abuse.
3) Know practical strategies to assist survivors in exercising their power in individual, family, and group counseling/advocacy settings.
Anita is a social worker in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. She provides individual and family counseling as an associate with Weigel Counseling Associates in Lancaster, PA. She also provides an array of strengths-based workshops and groups to community youth, parents, and professionals in Lancaster and beyond. Topics include media and body image, relationships and sexuality, teen pregnancy prevention, child abuse prevention, and empowerment for youth and professionals. Anita received her Masters in Social Work from Temple University in 2002, and a BS, Human Development & Family Studies, from Pennsylvania State University.
Never Simple: Treating Complex PTSD
For a copy of this presentation, please click here.
The purpose of this workshop is to illustrate the impact of severe childhood trauma and neglect. This workshop will provide a treatment model that helps clinicians meet the tremendous clinical needs of individuals who have experienced a lifetime of attachment-related ruptures. Additionally, this workshop will highlight the clinical imperative of understanding how the trauma experience gets played out in the transference/counter-transference dynamics of the therapeutic dyad.
Stephanie Van Deusen, Ph.D. L.P.C.
Therapist, Samaritan Counseling Center
Learning Objectives:
1) Provide a psychological conceptualization of complex trauma.
2) Identify a stage oriented treatment model and illustrate the keys treatment goals of each stage by presenting case studies.
3) Identify specific transference/counter-transference dynamics when working with Complex PTSD.
Stephanie holds a Ph.D. in Counseling from Loyola College in Maryland. She holds a Masters in Science in Counseling from Loyola College and a Bachelor’s of Arts Degree in Psychology with a minor in Family Studies from Messiah College. She is a licensed Professional Counselor and a Nationally Certified Counselor. She trained under the direct supervision of Dr. Christine Courtois for one year in a Partial Day Hospital for Posttraumatic Stress Disorders. She completed a second year of training under Dr. Courtois and Dr. Joan Turkus specializing in the treatment of severe Dissociative disorders. Stephanie’s doctoral research looks at the impact of psychological trauma and one’s attachment to God on psychological well-being. Her extensive experience working with trauma survivors also includes working with children with attachment related disorders and women with substance use disorders. She also specializes in working with therapists dealing with vicarious traumatization and burn-out issues. Her theoretical approach to counseling incorporates a psychodynamic/object relations model with cognitive/behavioral interventions.
Long Term Psychosocial Implications Following Disasters
For a copy of this presentation, please click here.
The mental health risks of disasters and mass trauma continue to be of significant concern in the United States. Several public health emergency events, including Hurricane Katrina, September 11th and the more recent Amish school shootings and Virginia Tech mass shootings, have further generated concerns as to how the psychiatric and public health communities can anticipate and prepare for the short and long term psychological and behavioral consequences of these events. Dr. Ng will highlight prevalent mental health effects in mass trauma and public health emergencies. He will also present strategies on coping through partnerships and securing a bridge between mental health and public health to promote community resilience.
Anthony T. Ng, MD
Director, Mannanin Healthcare, LLC
Learning Objectives:
1) A greater understanding of the close relationship between mental health and public health in disaster preparedness and response to terrorism, disasters, and other public health emergencies.
2) A greater awareness of the psychological consequences of disaster and mass trauma.
3) A greater understanding of factors that will promote individual and community resiliency.
Dr. Ng is a board certified psychiatrist and a director of Mannanin Healthcare, LLC, a health care and emergency medical management consulting firm. He is an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences and assistant clinical professor of Psychiatry at George Washington University. He is also a medical officer with the District of Columbia Department of Mental Health. Dr. Ng is the immediate past chair of the American Psychiatric Association Committee on Psychiatric Dimensions of Disaster. He has extensive mass trauma experience, having been involved in various disaster responses including the El Salvador earthquakes, WTC attacks, anthrax responses to NBC and ABC networks, the crash of American Airlines Flight 587 and Hurricane Katrina and Rita and has provided consultations in other disasters including the Asian Tsunamis disaster, the Amish school shooting and more recently, the Virginia Tech mass shooting. Dr. Ng was Chair of the New York City Chapter of Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (NYCVOAD), a disaster coalition group, from 2001 to 2003. He has also consulted both nationally and internationally with various governmental and non-governmental agencies including SAMHSA, American Red Cross and USAID in the Middle East. Dr. Ng has presented and written extensively both nationally and internationally in the area of disaster mental health, crisis management, cross cultural issues, homelessness and substance abuse issues. Dr. Ng received his medical degree at SUNY at Buffalo School of Medicine. He completed his psychiatry residency at St. Vincent’s Hospital in New York City and was a Public Psychiatry Fellow at Columbia/Presbyterian Hospital. Dr. Ng is a member of the American Psychiatric Association, the Royal College of Psychiatrists, the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies and the International Association of Emergency Managers.
When Words Alone Won’t Do: Integrating the Body into Treatment
For a copy of this handout, please click here.
This presentation chronicles the collaborative work between a therapist and a survivor of childhood trauma after an impasse was reached in talk therapy. The client’s own experience and reading convinced him that involvement of his body was necessary for healing. A period of tension led to frank discussions about trust and boundaries, then to a mutual investigation of adjunct therapies such as massage, Trager, Somatic Experience and neuro-feedback. A brief history of body-sensitive psychotherapy, journal records from therapist and client, and a summary of relevant literature from various fields, as well as recommendations for further research, will be discussed.
Perry J. Hazeltine, Ph.D., Psychologist
Samaritan Counseling Center
Learning Objectives:
1) Understand the ethical and therapeutic problems of staying within conventional boundaries when there is limited success.
2) Moving beyond conventional therapy boundaries and referring to adjunct treatments.
3) Describe the empirical and intuitive rationales for involving body work in treatment of trauma.
4) Recommendations for any one exploring complementary body-sensitive therapies.
Perry holds a Doctorate in Counseling Psychology from Temple University and bachelors degrees in Religious Studies and Honors from Villanova University. His dissertation researched shame and guilt in combat-related PTSD. He is especially interested in child anxieties and fears, adolescent anxiety and depression, and recovery from trauma for all ages. Other presentations include Recognizing Trauma in Children and The Role of Faith in Psychological Trauma.
Chronically Stressed Systems and Helpers: Organizational PTSD
For a copy of this presentation, please click here.
Trauma is infectious. It spreads through agencies, medical and mental health systems, and other organizations as increasing numbers of traumatized people seek help. Organizations and staff can become chronically stressed as a result, and their “immune systems” can become compromised, leading to a downward spiral where staff does not feel safe with clients or each other. Communication networks break down. Unresolved interpersonal conflicts increase. Leadership becomes more controlling, and staff responds by acting out, feeling increasingly angry, burned out and demoralized. If this destructive sequence is not arrested, the organization begins to act in uncannily similar ways to the traumatized people it seeks to help.
Dr. Sandra Bloom
President and CEO, Community Works
Learning Objectives:
1) Participants will be able to describe the signs of organizational stress.
2) Partiicipants will be able to define parallel processes.
3) Participants will be able to develop a plan to approach the problem of stress within their own organization.
Dr. Sandra Bloom is a psychiatrist and the President and CEO of Community Works, a systems consulting firm. Dr. Bloom served as Founder and Executive Director of the Sanctuary programs from 1980-2001, inpatient psychiatric programs for the treatment of trauma-related disorders. She is a Past-President of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (ISTSS) and in 1998 received the Sarah Haley Award for Clinical Excellence from the ISTSS. She is the Past-President of the Philadelphia chapter of Physicians for Social Responsibility and during her tenure helped to develop award winning domestic violence training programs for health care settings. In 1999-2000 she chaired the Task Force on Family Violence for Attorney General of Pennsylvania, Mike Fisher. From 1998-2001 Dr. Bloom served as the Saul Z. Cohen Chair at the Jewish Board of Family and Children’s Services in New York, introducing the Sanctuary concepts to a large residential program for children and adolescents in Hawthorne, New York.
She is the author of Creating Sanctuary: Toward the Evolution of Sane Societies, and co-author of Bearing Witness: Violence and Collective Responsibility. She speaks nationally and internationally about the impact of traumatic experience on individuals, families, organizations, and cultures.
PTSD and Addiction
No handout or presentation available.
This interactive workshop provides introductory information appropriate for the general public. Participants will learn basic concepts, including signs and symptoms, of trauma, PTSD, chemical dependency and compulsive disorders (e.g.: gambling, sexual dependence, compulsive eating, work, spending, exercise, high risk activities and violence). Interplay of these issues is to be explored including family dynamics and the need for treatment for all affected. Intervention and treatment options will be reviewed.
Richard B. French, BA, CAC
Learning Objectives:
1) Understand basic introductory concepts.
2) Recognize presented issues.
3) Develop awareness of treatment and support available.
4) Understand need to treat concomitant disorders simultaneously to facilitate recovery from PTSD.
Rick is in private practice and has 30 years of experience in the addictions field. Over 20 of these were with the Caron Foundation in Wernersville, PA. He is certified as an addictions counselor and is a Vietnam veteran with 32 years of continuous recovery from alcoholism, drug addiction and co-dependence. The number of veterans with high rates of relapses and return to treatment prompted Rick’s involvement with treatment of PTSD as part of the work in recovering from addiction.
The Many Faces of Trauma: Next Steps in Community Approaches
No handout or presentation available.
Lyndra J. Bills, MD
In this closing keynote, Dr. Bills will synthesize the learning experiences of conference participants. Various types of traumatic stress and the psychological, physiological and social implications for victims, families, and professionals will be presented to assist with integration of key concepts described in the workshops. Psychosocial factors that impede, and those that promote, safe environments and resilience, will be discussed. Participants will be encouraged to identify ways that governments, schools, non-profit organizations, business, providers, survivors, families and others can develop innovative approaches to creating social safety and reducing the impact of traumatic stress.
Learning Objectives:
1) Participants will be able to identify different types of traumatic stress.
2) Participants will be stimulated to think of creative ways for improved community networking to reduce the overall impact of stress.
Dr. Bills is a Board-Certified psychiatrist trained in both psychiatry and internal medicine with fellowship training in psychotraumatology. She became Medical Director of Mental Health Services at Lancaster General Health System in 2004. Prior to joining Lancaster General, she practiced in the Philadelphia area including Medical Director for the Sanctuary Program from 1996-1999. The Sanctuary Model (see http://www.sanctuaryweb.com) represents a trauma informed method for creating or changing an organizational culture in order to more effectively provide a cohesive context within which healing from psychological and social traumatic experience be addressed. Dr. Bills introduced innovative trauma-specific therapeutic techniques into the Sanctuary program when it was at Friend’s Hospital, including video dialogue and Trauma Art™, a cognitive behavioral narrative exposure technique used to help people gain mastery over traumatic experiences. Trauma Art™ has been used extensively by Dr. Bills as well as many clinicians she has trained. It has been developed as a tool to “bridge the black hole” of trauma using a very structured yet simple process to connect the verbal and nonverbal aspects of the brain.
1803 Oregon Pike
Lancaster, PA 17601
717-560-9969 · 1-800-400-7789
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