Caregivers Re-Discovering Wellness: Reconnecting After Trauma, and the Strength of Community Presented by: Nathalie Cote, Family Peer Support Worker – Psychiatric Survivors of Ottawa A Family Peer Support model developed and implemented by Psychiatric Survivors of Ottawa (PSO)

In Today’s Workshop:  Family Engagement – from Part of the Problem to Part of the Solution  Principles of Peer/Family Peer Support  Guiding Principles for Families that Lead Toward Healing and Recovery  Recovery, Hope and Resiliency  Trauma - What is this I’m feeling?  Any Questions?

Our Hope from this Presentation:  A ‘new’ complete circle of care – Championing the clinical / peer balance.  Lessening the focus of despair, re-evaluating expectations, control, and co-dependency.  Reconnecting to your true self while balancing crisis within the family unit.  Families needing to also recover– the impact of trauma in supporting a loved one with mental health challenges.  Discovering community connection and re-discovering joy.

A Brief Look Back…  Family Support Services…  Family Support Services within a clinical context…  Family Advisory Committee Advocacy…  Collaboration and respectful partnerships…  Immediate follow up following clinical crisis intervention…  Met with supportive peer listening, peer support groups and self-engaging workshops…  Allowing for insight of family circumstances, opportunities for self-help, growth and re-focused wellness of self…  Family members regaining wellness– discovering self-care, empowerment, acceptance, and understanding.

Principles of Peer/Family Peer Support So what this is ALL ABOUT ?  Shared experience  Mutuality and equality (we support each other)  Self-determination - we are all experts in our own lives  Curiosity and non judgment  Empowerment and hope for Personal Growth and Lifelong Learning value  Role of Family Peer Support Workers (in the system but not of the system)  The value of lived experiences (being the beacon of hope)

Family Engagement – from Part of the Problem to Part of the Solution …  Why family may hinder recovery? Can we affect our loved one's life in a negative way?  What family needs in order to become truly supportive?  How family recovery may contribute to the family wellness (for all members)?

Guiding Principles for Families that Lead Toward Healing and Recovery  Cultivating Acceptance and Respect  Unconditional respect and acceptance for our relative exactly as he or she is at present  Great expectations = great disappointments. What “normal” means?  Letting go of unhealthy cultural conditioning and the pressure of the society (stigma, calling it a family tragedy etc.)  Orientation: Choosing Happiness  Engaged in taking care of our own well-being and mental health. We all need the benefits of healing in one area or another  What heals is the ability to be with another’s suffering without judgments and without need at the moment to do anything about it – just simply to connect in empathy with the other’s pain  Boundaries: Setting Limits, Giving Space  Clear and firm limits for the protection and well-being of everyone in the family  Taking everyone’s own personal needs as seriously as those of their relative

Guiding Principles for Families that Lead Toward Healing and Recovery Cont’d  Full Expression: Showing Appreciation, being Honest  Appreciation of our loved ones exactly as they are in the present moment, without need for them to be different  The ability to be honest about one’s negative feelings in a non-blaming, non-judgmental constructive manner. Communication strategies  The Social Environment: Finding Community  Finding a sustaining environment in which participants with similar experience can explore and help one another. Family peer support group  Or, it could be simply the cultivation of friends who are willing to provide support  Or, gratification and enriching our own lives by helping others who are in the same boat  Families differ, and each must find the kind of community resources that will enhance its own capacity for individual and family wellness

Trauma – What is this I’m feeling? The Phases of Trauma Safety and Stabilization Figuring out what areas of life need to be stabilized and how that will be accomplished will be helpful in moving forward in recovery. “The experience of emotional overwhelm is similar to that of a shaken bottle of soda. Inside the bottle is a tremendous amount of pressure. The safest way to release the pressure is to open and close the top in a slow cautious and intentional manner so as to prevent and explosion.” (Rothschild, 2010)

Trauma – What is this I’m feeling?  Remembering and Mourning Processing the trauma, putting words and emotions to it and making meaning to it. At this stage many individuals are quickly overwhelmed and emotionally flooded when talking about their trauma memories. Through remembering and mourning, the point is not to ‘re-live’ the trauma but nor is it to tell the story with no emotional attachment. Finding that balance is crucial.

Trauma – What is this I’m feeling?  Reconnecting and Integration There must now be a creation of a new sense of self and future. One must seek in redefining oneself in the context of meaningful relationships. Through this process– the trauma no longer is a defining and organizing principle in someone's life. The trauma becomes integrated into the life story but is not the only story that defines them. Individuals are now ready to take concrete steps towards empowerment and self- determined living. Which brings me here to you today….

Please remember…  Recovery and working through trauma will look differently for everyone. It is important to be gentle, patient and compassionate with yourself as you move through the healing process.