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Trauma Resource Institute

www.traumaresourceinstitute.com
www.communityresiliencymodel.com

Community Resiliency
Model
Section 2

Written by Elaine Miller-Karas


from the original work of Elaine Miller-Karas, Geneie Everett and Laurie Leitch

The Nervous System

Primary Focus of CRM:


Biology vs. Mental Weakness

Responses to trauma and stress can


have a major effect on the mind, body
and spirit.

CRMs focus is on the nervous


system.

CRM looks at traumatic symptoms in


terms of biology not mental
weakness.

CRM helps individuals track


sensations connected to their wellbeing (their resilience).

We Track Our Neutral and Pleasant Sensations


BECAUSE

What fires together


gets wired together! Carla Schatz

Neural Pathways
At birth
Age

Elementary

Healthy Brain Development

Abuse, Neglect, Trauma

An Elegant Design:
The Capacity to Heal
The human body has the inner capacity to heal and
restore itself and has a wisdom that words cannot
speak.

Trauma and Memory

Explicit Memory

Is the process of conscious


learning and storing
information like facts and
events
Accessed by our intention
Facts

Life history on a timeline


There is a sense of self
& time
Develops 18-24 months
of age

Implicit Memory
Includes body memories like sensations
associated with traumatic memories
Cues trigger implicit memories
Does not have a sense of self & time
Develops before birth
Can be triggered out of the blue
COZOLINO (2002) THE NEUROSCIENCE OF PSYCHOTHERAPY

Internal Trigger

External Trigger

Internal body sensation


Muscle tension

Smells

Visuals
(people,
places
& things)

Sounds

headache

Memory Capsule
pain, numbness, dizziness,
trembling, paralysis,
nausea, palpitations,
anxiety, terror, shame, anger, rage,
flashbacks, nightmares or
intrusive thoughts

Stomachache

Scaer, R,(2007) The Body Bears the Burden

Study of Adolescents
Recalling Maltreatment
Maltreatment in childhood may alter the regulatory capacity of the
brains fear circuit, leading to increased internalizing symptoms by
late adolescence.
Brain scans showed that in adolescents who had been maltreated as
children, the connection with the hippocampus was relatively weak.
Maltreatment predicts lower prefrontalhippocampal connectivity
in females and males but lower prefrontalamygdala connectivity
only in females.
"These kids seem to be afraid everywhere," he says. "It's like they've
lost the ability to put a contextual limit on when they're going to be
afraid and when they're not. Ryan Herringa, November 2013
Childhood maltreatment is associated with altered fear circuitry and
increased internalizing symptoms by late adolescence. NPR, November
2013

Survival Reactions
Tend and Befriend
Fight and Flight
Freeze

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Survival Responses:
Tend & Befriend, Fight, Flight & Freeze

Survival Responses are


automatic responses that
occur during times when we
perceive a threat.

We respond instinctually to
survive.

If the environment is
threatening or perceived to
be threatening, the person
may live in a constant state
of distress.

This can reset the NS so


even small triggers can
release an automatic
survival response.

Tend
and
Befrien
d

A human response
to threat, often by
females, especially
mothers with young
Refers to protection of
offspring TENDING
and seeking out the
social group for
mutual defense
BEFRIENDING

Automatic responses to
threat
Triggered by bodys appraisal
system and carried out by
survival brain

FREEZE RESPONSE
An altered state of reality
The slowing down of time
Diminished awareness of fear and pain

Why is it important to learn


about the survival responses?

An adult or childs survival responses may be triggered as a


result of a perceived threat.

An adult can be triggered by:

Challenging co-workers and supervisors


Challenging family members
Challenging students/parents/staff

A child can be triggered by:


Being

bullied
Challenging life events at home or in school
School staff or other children that trigger reminders
of past trauma
Fear of failure

Issues in treating combat trauma

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Bullying Paradigm
Aggressor, Prey, Witness
Using Biological Language
Aggressor is the experience a person can be in when he is looking
for someone who is out to get him. He is in a constant state of fight.
Prey is when a person feels under attack. An individual can begin to
feel there is no safety and someone may be always out to get them.
A person can feel like prey as a result of violence, combat, partner violence, child
abuse, etc..

Witness is when a person is present during events where you see


violence. It can be when people see other people being hurt, bullied
or even killed
Witnessing can also cause a person to be always ready to fight or flee and be stuck
in the high zone

Skill 4
Gesturing &
Spontaneous Movement

Skill 4:
Gesturing & Spontaneous Movement

A movement usually of the body or limbs


that expresses or emphasizes an idea,
sentiment, or attitude.

The use of motions of the limbs or body as a


means of expression.
(Merriam Webster Dictionary)

Movements and/or gestures that do not


cause self-injury or self-harm
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Movements and Gestures


Common Types for Resourcing and
Self-Care
Self-Calming
Soothing

Release

Slide by Elaine Miller-Karas and Beth Turner (2015)

Movements and Gestures


Joyful and Powerful
Protection

Universal
Spiritual
Gestures

Calming gestures
Happy gestures
Confident gestures
Joyful gestures
1. Invite the children to make a
gesture of happiness,
confidence or peace
2. As they think about the
gesture, count to 3 and then
ask the group to each make
their individual gesture
together
3. Track sensations

Skill 5 & 6
Help Now!
And Shift and Stay

Self
and for
Others
Can be used when
we are stuck in the
high zone or low zone
Can be taught to
other people to help
them get back to the
Resilient Zone when
stuck on high or low

HELP
SLIDE BY BETH TURNER

Skill 5: Help Now Strategies!


If a child or an adult is way out of his/her Resilient Zone, the following
can help:
Suggest

pushing against a wall or against your hands


Count backwards from 10 to 1 (if old enough)
Name the colors in the room or in the space
Walk with the child or adult outside and listen for different sounds in the
environment

While doing any one or a combination of the above, encourage the


person to be aware of sensations that are more pleasant or neutral on
the inside.

Skill 5: Help Now!

1. Drink a glass of water or juice or cup of tea


2. Look around the room or wherever you are, paying attention
to anything that catches your attention.
3. Name six colors you see in the room (or outside).
4. Open your eyes if they have a tendency to shut.
5. Count backwards from 10 as you walk around the room.
6. If youre inside, notice the furniture, and touch the surface,
noticing if it is hard, soft, rough, etc
7. Notice the temperature in the room.
8. Notice the sounds within the room and outside.
9. If youre outside or inside, walk and pay attention to the
movement in your arms and legs and how your feet are
making contact with the ground.
10. Push your hands against the wall or door slowly and notice
your muscles pushing or stand against a wall and push your
body against the wall facing forward

Games can help children learn


how to track sensations
Games can assist the helpers
learn about the children that are
having trouble coming back into
balance
Games that move the large
muscles of the body can help
children regain inner balance
Games can be gentle ways to help
children come back into balance

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Calming
High Energy
Calming
High Energy and
Cooperation
Friendly smiles-making
connection
Calming and Safety

Skill 5: Help Now! Exercise


Ask yourself:
1.Has there been a time in your life when you have needed the Help Now
strategies?
2.Is there a way you can remind yourself to use the strategies when you are
way out of your Resilient Zone?
3.If in situations where it may not occur to you to use the Help Now strategies,
who can you give the Help Now information to in order to help you when you
get bumped out of the Resilient Zone? Who is the person(s) and when can you
give the person(s) the Help Now information?
4.Is there a person in your life who you could share the Help Now strategies
with that could use them when that person gets bumped out of his/her
Resilient Zone? If so, who?

Skill 6: Shift and Stay


CRM Wellness Skill
The person learns to shift from distress, discomfort and/or
overwhelm by shifting:
To a resource
To grounding
To a soothing gesture
To a sensation that is more comfortable or neutral
To Help Now strategies
Shift and Stay is a skill used to help a person learn to bring
attention to the different ways to bring the nervous system
back into the Resilient Zone.

Shift and Stay means shifting your attention


from sensations that are unpleasant to
sensations that are neutral or pleasant and
staying there.
You can create a Shift and Stay Scavenger Hunt
for Kids with all the skills

Shift and Stay Exercise


Exercise:
Think about a situation from your own life experience that is
mildly upsetting but routine in your life. What happens inside?
If distressing sensations are experienced, bring your
attention to a place in the body that feels better, to Grounding,
to Help Now strategies or a Resource. Track neutral or
pleasant sensations and notice the change.

The Story

The Trauma Story


THE CRM WAY
When we press someone to remember a traumatic event,

it may not resolve the experience but actually may


reinforce the fear and stress that are part of the
recollection.

Scientists have discovered the very act of remembering

changes the structure of the memory.

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Resiliency Pauses
Survivors may think healing means they must tell the story of
their suffering.
Although the story of past experiences may be important to be
shared and witnessed, the story of the traumatic experience
does not have to be retold.
If a person you are sharing CRM Skills wants to tell you their
story, you can gently ask them about the survival elements of
their story.
Remember, CRM skills are NOT psychotherapy.

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Resiliency Pauses
CRM Resiliency Pauses can be interwoven if the person wants to
tell you their story.
You can tell me as much or as little about what happened to
you.
If you want to tell me the story, I would like to remind you of
the CRM skills we have already learned or if they have not yet
learned CRM skills, you can ask strength based questions about the
story.

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CRM Skills & Story


CRM skills can be interwoven into the recounting of the
trauma story:
As you are telling me this much, do you feel like you are getting
bumped into your high or low zone? (Tracking)
If so, would it be all right if we remember together the resources
you told me about? (Resourcing)
Can we sit her together and maybe sense how our bodies are
making contact with the chair? (Grounding)
I can tell that this is upsetting to you, sometimes it can help to
stand up and we can push against the wall together to help you
get back to your Resilient Zone. (Help Now!)
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CRM Skills and Survival


Adapting Resourcing: When you notice a person getting

knocked out of their resilient zone, you can use Stealth


CRM Skills like:
Did anyone help you make it out?

Can you remember the moment when you knew

you were going to survive? or Who else survived?


Can you remember the moment that help arrived?
Who is helping you the most now?

STEALTH
Resourcing and Tracking

The role of CRM Guide in an informal


setting in order to support a person in
need.
If distressed, you can integrate a
Resiliency Pause:
I wonder what is helping you get
through this?
OR
What or Who has helped you get
through difficult times in the past?
As a person reports an experience of well
being, the Guide may invite them to

Notice whats happening on


the inside

Strategies For Self-Care

Creating A Self Care Plan


1. What are you doing already to widen your Resilient Zone?
2. If you found the CRM skills helpful, how could you weave
the skills into your daily routine? Which skills would be
the most helpful?
3. What specifically do you need to do differently to embark
on a better self-care plan if you think yours needs
improvement?
4. Write a statement of encouragement to yourself that could
strengthen your resolve to improve your self-care plan and
stay with it.

Exercise for Self-Care Plan


1. Read your statement of encouragement to yourself.
2. As you read the statement of encouragement to
yourself, pay attention to the sensations inside your
body.
3. Draw your attention to the neutral or pleasant
sensations.
4. New beliefs, feeling or meanings may come up. As
something new and positive comes up, pay attention to
sensations that are pleasant or neutral.

Creating Community Change


1.How could you weave the skills into your community?
2.What steps would you need to take first to begin the process?
3.What strengths does your community have that would
support bringing the CRM skills to a wider network?
4.What challenges, if any, can you anticipate?
5.When can you start and with whom?

www.traumaresourceinstitute.com
www.communityresiliencymodel.com

Turning Adversity into


Creative Growth
The human body has the inner
capacity to heal and restore itself and
has a wisdom
that words cannot speak.
Elaine Miller Karas

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