Trauma Resources for Providers, Caregivers, Family, and those suffering with C/PTSD
I’ve scoured the Web and saved for years to share the best. Please forgive the poor organization; my CPTSD brain doesn’t organize well right now. Drop me a line if you’d like to help me better organize!
Trauma Awareness with Shay Seaborne, CPTSD
YouTube videos of my discussions and interviews about trauma awareness, prevention, and recovery.
Fostering Resilience and Recovery: A Change Package for Advancing Trauma-Informed Primary Care, a 21-page booklet from the National Council for Behavioral Health
Trauma-Informed Care in Behavioral Health Services, a full textbook, 343 pages. This manual helps behavioral health professionals understand the impact of trauma on those who experience it. The manual discusses patient assessment, and treatment planning strategies. These strategies support recovery, and building a trauma-informed care workforce. Provided by the US Dept of Health and Human Services.
“What The Fuck Just Happened?” (Peek inside mental hospitals run by United Health Services, which owns about 26% of the corporate-run institutions)
A BuzzFeed News investigation about deplorable and unsafe conditions and patient rights violations at mental health facilities owned by America’s largest psychiatric hospital chain, Universal Health Services (UHS), which owns two here in DE. My experiences and what I heard and saw are very much like those detailed here. Rockford is BAD for mental health! It’s important to avoid sending people there unless there is no better option.
Trauma-informed: The Trauma Toolkit, “a resource for service organizations and providers to deliver services that are trauma-informed.” 152 pages.
Prevent Secondary Traumatic Stress in Healthcare Providers “Providers treating patients with challenging medical conditions can sometimes feel drained, upset, or frustrated. This may be especially true during times of increased workloads or heightened personal stress…The ability to identify, understand and manage one’s emotional reactions is paramount to preventing and/or managing secondary traumatic stress.” Includes warning signs and self-care tips.
Childhood Trauma Leads to Brains Wired for Fear , a 10-minute audio. “Abuse and neglect in childhood can profoundly affect brain development. Negative childhood experiences can set our brains to constantly feel danger and fear,” says psychiatrist and traumatic stress expert Bessel van der Kolk. He’s the author of the book, “The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma.”
Shay Seaborne’s YouTube PTSD playlist Over 140 carefully selected videos about trauma and its resolution.
Interpersonal Neurobiology: Why Compassion is Necessary for Humanity a 20-min video by my fave West Coast neuropsychiatrist, Dr. Dan Siegel
Gateway of the Inner Body meditation audio by Eckhart Tolle
This recording is one of many tools you can use to help you become more familiar with your felt sense, the sense of the inner body, a vital connection.
Hand Washing Without Stress video with Imogen Ragone
“Take the tedium and the anxiety out of washing your hands for at least 20 seconds with this practice. Each time you wash you hands you can not only be getting rid of those pesky germs, but also letting go of excess tension and stress so you feel more at ease in yourself!”
Healthy Mind Platter from Dr. Dan Siegel
Dr. Siegel’s website details the seven daily essential mental activities to optimize brain matter and create well-being: Focus Time, Play Time, Connecting Time, Physical Time, Time In, Down Time, Sleep Time.
Flower/Candle breath exercise: Break the Cycle of Distress with Self-Regulation by Shay Seaborne
Self-regulation is a key ability for all people, one often disrupted by trauma, especially in those with earliest onset. These simple practices can help an anxious person down-regulate to a more positive and prosocial activation level. They are most beneficial when practiced in advance of anxiety so they are familiar as a go-to for relief.
BodyIntelligence and Alexander Technique
One of my biggest stress/anxiety tools. My personal study of the neurobiology of trauma and its resolution have shown me that Alexander Technique (AT) is greatly in line with the science that heals. Alexander Technique has become my go-to for noticing ease in even the most difficult situations. Imogen developed her own unique approach, which she calls BodyIntelligence, that “integrates mindfulness, posture and self-care, to give her clients practical and empowering strategies to relieve and prevent stress and tension.”
Stress, Trauma, and Alexander Technique A series of conversations about stress and trauma with Alexander Technique teacher Imogen Ragone and trauma awareness activist Shay Seaborne.
Dr. Siegel’s “Hand Model of the Brain”
Dr. Siegel invented a model of the brain using the hand. This “handy” model is useful because “when you know about the parts of the brain you can learn how to direct your attention to activate parts and change the function of your brain by knowing how the parts work together.”
Irene Lyon on YouTube is “passionate about nervous system health,” and offers new videos weekly. I highly recommend her.
The Crappy Childhood Fairy on YouTube endeavors to “teach people how to recognize and heal the common symptoms that can develop as a result of abuse, neglect, and exposure to violence, addiction and poverty when you were still a child.” Lots of good stuff.
Child Trauma Academy Library, a set of free resources for parents, caregivers, educators and professionals on: Interventions, Abuse & Neglect, Brain Development & Neuroscience, Child Development & Early Childhood, Trauma & PTSD, Violence & Public Health
Helping Traumatized Children, A Brief Overview for Caregivers by Bruce D. Perry, M.D., Ph.D. 17 pages of information and general principles.
National Institute for the Clinical Application of Behavioral Medicine (NICABM) The latest on trauma therapy, brain science, and mindfulness. They offer great professional webinars on aspects of trauma and its resolution.
Tension & Trauma Release Exercises (or TRE®) “is a simple yet innovative series of exercises that assist the body in releasing deep muscular patterns of stress, tension and trauma. Created by Dr. David Berceli, PhD, TRE safely activates a natural reflex mechanism of shaking or vibrating that releases muscular tension, calming down the nervous system. When this muscular shaking/vibrating mechanism is activated in a safe and controlled environment, the body is encouraged to return back to a state of balance.”
“Mindfulness, Mindsight, and The Mind: What Are They, and Why Do They Matter?” by Daniel J. Siegel, M.D. Dr. Siegel explores the areas of mindfulness, attention, and consciousness through an interpersonal neurobiology and mindsight lens. By looking closely at the history of mindfulness, a detailed understanding of the mind, and the neural structure that underlies the subjective experience of being mindful, we begin to understand how a mindfulness practice supports integration, health, and overall well-being.
Therapist Uncensored Podcast , so good! “Two therapists from Austin and their guest experts have fun breaking down the research on the brain, attachment and relationships to keep you off autopilot and get you moving towards closer connections. Entertaining Practical Understandable Uncensored!”
Resources for Spouses/Partners
Collected by Ellen Lacter, PhD.
Suicide Risk Assessment Guide “was developed to assist clinicians in all areas but especially in primary care and the emergency room/triage area to make an assessment and care decisions regarding patients who present with suicidal ideation or provide reason to believe that there is cause for concern.”
Dr. Patch Adams on YouTube ❣ He is an inspiration! Look for “Patch Adams, M.D. – Transform 2010 – Mayo Clinic,” in which the author and founder of the Gesundheit! Institute (The first silly hospital.) addressed the Transform 2010 Symposium sponsored by the Mayo Clinic Center for Innovation.
Also, longer, “Gesundheit Institute: Patch Adams at TEDxUtrechtUniversity”
Dr. Gabor Maté on YouTube A physician who specialized in family practice, palliative care and, finally, addiction medicine, Maté argues, “we all have brains that are wired for happiness. And if our happiness is threatened at a deep level, by traumas in our past that we’ve not resolved, we resort to addictions to restore the happiness we truly crave.”
Dr. Deb Dana’s publications and interviews One of the most popular trauma experts explains polyvagal theory in everyday terms. “An autonomic nervous system that co-regulates and self-regulates with ease creates the possibility for clients to move out of their past need for protection and embody a system that finds joy in connection.” Be sure to download “The Beginner’s Guide to Polyvagal Theory,” a free publication.
Norton Series on Interpersonal Neurobiology
“Born out of the excitement of a convergence of ideas and passions, this book provides a synthesis of the work of researchers, clinicians, and theoreticians who are leaders in the field of trauma, attachment, and psychotherapy.
As we move into the third millennium, the field of mental health is in an exciting position to bring together diverse ideas from a range of disciplines that illuminate our understanding of human experience: neurobiology, developmental psychology, traumatology, and systems theory. The contributors emphasize the ways in which the social environment, including relationships of childhood, adulthood, and the treatment milieu change aspects of the structure of the brain and ultimately alter the mind.”
Innate Path , a clinic, research, and training organization provides psychedelic psychotherapy for depression, anxiety, and PTSD (Complex Trauma)
“Innate Path Deep healing through the synergy of psychotherapy and expressive medicines” gives a good overview. This is the kind of work I do on my own because there is nobody in my state to help me with it.
Rick Doblin: The Future of Psychedelic-Assisted Psychotherapy “Could psychedelics help us heal from trauma and mental illnesses? Researcher Rick Doblin has spent the past three decades investigating this question, and the results are promising. In this fascinating dive into the science of psychedelics, he explains how drugs like LSD, psilocybin and MDMA affect your brain — and shows how, when paired with psychotherapy, they could change the way we treat PTSD, depression, substance abuse and more.
What is Sexual Assault? A “step-by-step guide for a detailed overview of what to do immediately following the incident, your rights, sexual assault laws in your state, and how to seek help with filing a sexual assault claim.”