3Trauma- and Resilience-Informed Practice for Self-Care Among Social Work Students

Evalyna Bogdan and Elaine Miller-Karas

Field education is an exciting stage in the social work academic program as students have the opportunity to see how theory and practice meet in the real-world and to interact with the populations with whom they want to work. The field experience also provides insight into what being a social worker will be like on a day-to-day basis and in the long-term. Although social work is a fulfilling profession with a focus on helping others, social workers have a high rate of burnout and therefore need self-care practices and peer support.

Social workers often work with people who have experienced stressful or traumatic events, or chronic overwhelming stress, and lack the resources, skills, or supports to deal with these events. Social workers may have, or may in the future, experience similar levels or types of stressful or traumatic events. Or they may experience secondary or vicarious trauma caused by second-hand exposure to traumatic events such as hearing stories shared by clients. There are many definitions of trauma but in the Community Resiliency Model (CRM), the simple definition used is that it is an event or situation that is “too little or too much for too long” (Trauma Resource Institute [TRI], 2021b, p. 31), which can dysregulate the nervous system. Individual perception is an important element because an event or situation that may be perceived by one person as highly stressful or traumatic may not be perceived as that severe when experienced by another person. The individual perception of threat is shaped by biological, social, and other factors including the ability to deal with the stressor. Trauma can also be differentiated into “large-T” Trauma which are major events such as natural disasters, war, assault, or “small-t” trauma which are minor events such as an interpersonal conflict, financial worries, or routine medical procedure (see Barbash, 2017). There is also what the Trauma Resource Institute (TRI, 2021a) identifies as cumulative trauma or “C-trauma” such as the impact of colonialism, genocide, racism, etc. The key point is whether a person’s nervous system becomes dysregulated and stuck in fight, flight, or freeze response which can then result in symptoms of stress and trauma, as described further below.

Resilience is the most common reaction of those who experience trauma, observed Bonanno (2009) and the Trauma Resource Institute. There are multiple definitions of resiliency¹, including “bouncing back” from challenges. The definition used in this chapter is the Community Resiliency Model definition developed by TRI: “Resiliency is an individual’s and community’s ability to identify and use individual and collective strengths in living fully in the present moment, and to thrive while managing the activities of daily living” (Miller-Karas, 2019, as cited in TRI, 2021b, p. 10). In CRM, there are many components of resiliency identified. Resiliency includes “cultivating our well-being, embracing our individual and collective assets and strengths, being solution-focused about life’s challenges, being compassionate, optimistic, and acknowledging individual and collective suffering with kindness. Accomplishing all of this as we live our lives” (TRI, 2021a, p. 10). Resilience strengthens our ability to overcome adversity, manage stress, and heal trauma. Helping clients and communities build resilience is a key role of social workers (Johnson, 2017). To help build the resilience of others, social workers first need to practice and demonstrate resilience skills themselves.

Resiliency is like a muscle that can be strengthened with practicing CRM. This chapter introduces three of the six CRM wellness skills with brief descriptions and accompanying activities which can be practiced by anyone at any time. Learning and practicing the CRM wellness skills as a student can help with stress management during the academic social work program and when transitioning into one’s career dedicated to improving individual and collective wellbeing.

Background on the Community Resiliency Model

The CRM approach strengthens individual and community resilience by teaching biology/body-based wellness skills to bring the nervous system back into regulation after stressful and traumatic events (Miller-Karas, 2015). CRM’s goal is to create trauma-informed and resiliency-informed communities that share a common understanding of the impact of trauma and stress on the nervous system and how resiliency can be restored or increased (Miller-Karas, 2021). CRM’s approach differs from cognitive-based approaches such as cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), a type of talking therapy, which helps people change their thinking and subsequently their troublesome emotions and behaviours (see Miller-Karas, 2019). In CRM, the focus is on the body and sensations in the body.

CRM is research informed. CRM workshops and trainings have been implemented in more than 100 countries for nurses (Grabbe et al., 2020a) and led by nurses during COVID-19 (Duva et al., 2022); frontline workers including providers of social services, health care, and public safety (Grabbe et al., 2021); genocide survivors in Rwanda (Habimana et al., 2021); women who struggle with addiction (Grabbe et al., 2020b); and high need/low resourced traumatized community of Latino, African-American, LGBTQ, Asian Pacific Islander, and veteran participants initiated through the California Mental Health Services Act (Freeman et al., 2021). These studies, some of which were randomized control trials, report statistically significant results in reduction of distress indicators, and symptoms from first- and second-hand posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, depression, burnout, as well as increase in wellness indicators and daily functioning, among others.

To begin, individuals are educated about how their nervous system functions using accessible concepts and are taught six easy-to-learn wellness skills for self-regulation/stabilization, and self-care. For example, one skill is tracking sensations to distinguish between those of distress (such as tense muscles or shallow and rapid breaths) versus wellness (such as relaxed muscles or deep and slow breaths). Once these skills are learned, individuals are encouraged to practice these skills in caring for others and to share this knowledge within their wider social network to practice together, hence the term “community” in the Community Resiliency Model.

The Nervous System as a Guardian

Why is understanding the nervous system important to wellbeing and resilience? Tracking the nervous system provides insights into our current mental, emotional, and physical states through sensations in the body. Being aware of these states can then inform what actions to take to shift away from situations that reduce our well-being towards situations that enhance our wellbeing. The term used in CRM for wellbeing is the “Resilient Zone.”

The Resilient Zone is state of wellbeing in mind, body, and spirit (figure 3.1). When in the Resilient Zone, you are able to handle the stresses of life. When you are in your Resilient Zone or “OK Zone” you are OK excited, OK worried, OK relaxed, OK calm, OK sad, or OK happy. In this Resilient Zone or OK Zone, you are your best self in a range of emotions. Being able to recognize when you are in your own Resilient Zone and when you are bumped out is one of the major concepts in CRM. Notice that the Resilient Zone is like a wave as there can be times in your day when you have more stress and other times during your day when you are calmer. There is ebb and flow, and you can manage the challenges that you face during your day by being your best self in mind, body, and spirit.

The depth of our Resilient Zone can change depending on life experiences. Also, some people are born with a wider Resilient Zone and others have a narrow Resilient Zone. The good news is that the depth of our Resilient Zone can be expanded. Once we are able to discern between sensations of distress and sensations of wellbeing, we can focus on the sensations of wellbeing associated with resiliency to reduce responses associated with threat and fear (Miller-Karas, 2019). For example, when someone disappoints us or hurts our feelings, we no longer lie awake all night or eat an entire chocolate bar. The more we learn and practice the wellness skills and the more the skills are integrated into our lives, the more we can work to widen our Resilient Zone. The goal of CRM is to widen your Resilient Zone which can be done through the wellness skills described below. But first, we return to the description of the nervous system.

The nervous system is made up of the brain, spinal cord, and nerves and helps all parts of the body to communicate with one another. It is one of the most ancient primitive systems in the body of all organisms in the animal kingdom. Every human has a nervous system – that is one thing we all have in common and brings us together as shared humanity. One of the nervous system’s functions is to keep us alive by sensing and moving away from danger and towards safety. In essence, our nervous system is our guardian.

Our nervous system consists of two parts: the Central Nervous System (CNS) and the Peripheral Nervous System (PNS). The CNS is in the centre of our bodies and consists of the brain and spinal cord which have the function of processing information and motor output (facilitating movement), among other functions. The PNS is the system that contains all the nerves that our outside or the periphery of the CNS such as the nerves in our skin, limbs, and organs. The primary role of the PNS is to connect the CNS (brain and spinal cord) to other parts of our bodies (figure 3.2).

The PNS is divided into three branches. First, the PNS consists of the Somatic Nervous System (SNS) which connects the CNS with muscles and skin. The PNS includes skeletal muscles and voluntary muscles such as arm and communicates with sense organs. Second, the PNS consists of the Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) which regulates involuntary physiologic processes that are independent of our thinking and control and are unconscious, hence the name autonomic. These include heart rate, blood pressure, respiration, digestion, and sexual arousal. Think of the ANS as the accelerator and the brake of the nervous system (TRI, 2021a). The ANS communicates with internal organs and glands. Third, the PNS also branches off into the visceral nervous system which consists of nerves and other sensors that relay information from the visceral organs (heart, digestive tract, etc.) to the CNS and monitors the internal environment. The ANS contains three anatomically distinct divisions: sympathetic, parasympathetic, and enteric, which is the digestive tract which is out of scope for this chapter but just as important for wellbeing as the brain (Enders, 2015). To learn more about the complex and fascinating gastrointestinal system, also referred to as the second brain, read the informative and entertaining book Gut: The Inside Story of Our Body’s Most Underrated Organ by Enders (2015).

The sympathetic division helps us prepare for action of fight or flight to respond to actual danger (e.g., a bully) or perceived danger (e.g., public speaking), by raising breathing and heart rate and blood pressure to get as much oxygen carrying blood to muscles. It does so by diverting blood away from the digestive and reproductive system (see figure 3.3). An easy way to remember is that sometimes when we are stressed, we feel like there is a knot in our stomach and our mouth is dry and we feel like we can’t eat anything. In contrast, the parasympathetic division helps us prepare to recover from fight/flight by resting and digesting, and it does so by decreasing breathing and heart rate and blood pressure. One way to remember that the PNS prepared us for rest is how pleasant it feels to be having a relaxing dinner with family or friends.

Life experiences and circumstances, such as stressful or traumatic events (symbolized as the red lightning bolt in figure 3.4 below) can bump us out of our Resilient Zone. In the case of chronic stress or unresolved trauma, the sympathetic nervous system can get stuck in an overactivated state either in the high zone (hyper-arousal) resulting in anxiety and panic, angry outbursts, pain, irritability, and other states, or in the low zone (hypo-arousal) resulting in depression, isolation, exhaustion, fatigue and other states (figure 3.4).

In extreme situations in which fight or flight does not seem like an option when responding to a threat, the nervous system enters a state of freeze². This can feel like numbness and look like tonic immobilization (an involuntary, reflexive reaction characterized by a rigid, unmoving state) to prepare for the possibility of death. An example would be a client speaking about abuse and then suddenly they stop speaking and instead sits motionless with the “1000-yard stare” – their eyes looking “through” you, their breathing becomes rapid and shallow, and their jaw is clenched.

One of the most important teachings in CRM is the biology of the stress response in order to enhance the understanding that biology is not human weakness (TRI, 2021a). Feeling anxious, depressed, exhausted, or numb happens because of biological responses of our bodies to a situation rather than because we are weak and not strong enough. Understanding these biological responses helps us to be more non-judgemental towards ourselves and others who are struggling with stress and trauma.

Optimal functioning can be achieved when the nervous system is able to return to the Resilient Zone. There are several exercises and activities that are described below that can help you return to your Resilient Zone. Research on the brain has revealed that the brain has neuroplasticity, meaning that the brain changes and rewires itself in response to stimulation from learning and experiences³). Also, the brain undergoes neurogenesis or creates new neurons (nerve cells in the brain) and connections between neurons throughout a lifetime (Altman, 1962, as cited in Wnuk, 2016). You may have heard of the saying coined by Carla Schatz: “What fires together, wires together” (Keysers & Gazzola, 2014)⁴. This means that when brain cells fire together (or stimulate each other), strong neuronal pathways form, which increase the speed of communication between neurons. Think of these pathways as a super high-speed highway. The takeaway is that there is hope in the ability of our brain and our responses to change. By practicing the CRM wellness skills, we can enhance our resiliency responses.

Below are activities section divided into three parts. First, activities for defining and assessing wellness. Second, CRM wellness skills. Third, CRM care plans. Feel free to write, draw, doodle, and express yourself creatively in these activity sections to make this chapter your own. If at any time an activity is too uncomfortable, you are invited to stop and shift your attention to something comfortable or pleasant. It’s important to recognize that we are living in a world with specific systems and structures in place (capitalist, patriarchal, hierarchical, consumerist, etc.) which contribute to nervous system dysregulation, and make it challenging to embody the wellness skills all the time. Being non-judgemental and kind to ourselves are attitudes that can help us regulate our individual nervous system and collective, societal nervous system responses and hence strengthen individual and collective resilience.

Part 1: What is Wellness and Wellness Check-In

Activity 1

For Activity 1, there are four components: Activity 1a to define wellness and/or resilience, Activity 1b to describe what wellness/resilience feel like, Activity 1c to understand what the lack of, or shortage of, wellness/resilience feels like, and Activity 1d to assess your current level of resiliency.

Activity 1a: Defining Wellness/Resiliency. What does wellness/resiliency mean to you? What are similarities or differences between individual and community wellness/resiliency?

Activity 1b: What Does Wellness/Resilience Feel Like? How does it feel when you are in your Resilient Zone mentally, emotionally, physically, and/or spiritually?

The following is a list of some common reactions to stressful or traumatic events:

Activity 1c: What Does a Lack of Wellness/Resiliency Feel Like? Beyond the signs that were mentioned above in Figures 3.4 and 3.5, there may be other signs or behaviours that are specific to you signalling that you are in the low zone (e.g., sleeping more than 9-10 hours/day) or high zone (e.g., chewing nails or overeating when nervous). Note some of the signs and behaviours:

Activity 1d: Current Level of Resiliency. The next activity is to check in on your current level of resiliency. There are different ways to do so using the CRM approach:

1. Use the iChill app.
2. Identify where you are on the Resilient Zone scale on the iChill app (figure 3.6).
3. Or combine the Resilient Zone scale and the iChill app (as in figure 3.7, see Activity 2).

The free iChill app⁵ (figure 3.6) explains CRM 6 wellness skills, allows you to track where you are on the Resilient Zone before and after practicing wellness skills, and has Resilient Zone images such as the graph from Figure 3.8. If you do not have a smart phone, the skills of CRM can be learned by going to iChillapp.com with translations in English, Spanish and Ukrainian.

The iChill app can also be used together with the Resilient Zone graph as shown below in figure 3.7 in which the numerical values (ranging from 1 low zone to 10 high zone) have been placed on the graph.

Activity 2

Assess your current resiliency level by indicating where you are on the Resilient Zone graph in figure 3.8 (TRI, 2021a) and applying your iChill app score (your score from Activity 1d step 3 – see figure 3.7 as an example):

SIX Skills are in the Palms of your Hands

Note that where you indicate you are on the Resilient Zone graph can change throughout the day. Regardless of where you are on the Resilient Zone graph, the CRM wellness skills described in Part 2 can help to bring the nervous system back into the Resilient zone.

Part 2: CRM Wellness Skills

There are six CRM wellness skills:

1. Tracking (reading sensations)
2. 2. Resourcing
3. Grounding
4. Help Now!
5. Gesturing
6. Shift and stay

This chapter introduces the first four of the six wellness skills depicted in figure 3.8. You can learn about the remaining two skills on the iChill app.

Tracking

Tracking is most important for self-care; hence it is the first wellness skill. Tracking is essential when practicing each of the other five skills. Tracking is the foundation for helping to stabilize the nervous system and involves noticing or paying attention to sensations in the body from moment to moment. Examples of sensations include temperature, pain, tingling or itching. There are several metaphors for tracking:

• “Tracking is like the GPS of the body: if I know where I am I can’t get lost.”
• “It’s like having a conversation with the body. It’s already talking to you, but Tracking gives you the ability to talk back and converse.”

Sensations can be categorized as pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral. Sensations originate from billions of receptors throughout the body. Every thought, emotion, and experience have corresponding body sensations. Therefore, paying attention to sensations can give a person greater awareness of their emotions and thoughts.

The insula is the part of the brain involved with interoception, or the ability to observe body sensations in response to thoughts, feelings, and movement. The insula helps the mind and the body to communicate with one another and helps to initiate actions to keep the body in a state of internal balance. For example, if you feel too cold, you think to put on a sweater. Body awareness can bring about emotional regulation and clearer thinking (Paulus et al., 2010). Sensory awareness skills that focus on pleasant or neutral sensations may establish new neural networks and result in positive neural pathways that compete with or replace existing negative neural pathways (Grabbe et al., 2020a). There are many types of sensations, some are listed in figure 3.9.

Learning Sensation Words

Sensations can also include yawning, stomach gurgling, burping, and other gastrointestinal signs as the nervous system shifts from sympathetic nervous system response of fight/flight to parasympathetic nervous system response of rest and digest. Sensations can be tracked from head to toe, focusing on just one part of the body such as the hands, or checking in on other or all parts of the body one-by-one. To practice the tracking skill, try out Activity 3a and 3b.

Activity 3a

Rub your hands together really fast and identify the sensations while you are rubbing them and then when you stop. Note the sensations:

Activity 3b

Ask yourself: “What sensations am I aware of on the inside when I think about or experience something (pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral)?” For the unpleasant thoughts or experiences, do not choose a topic that is too triggering or traumatic. If you would like to address very unpleasant issues, do so in conjunction with assistance from a mental health care practitioner.

Tracking also involves paying attention to others we interact with. It is good to try this with people we know as we are likely to be more attuned to people that we know well and care about. What do you notice about a person who is talking about a pleasant experience? Do they smile and do their muscles look relaxed? Do you then find yourself also smiling and feeling relaxed? Conversely, what if they are talking about an unpleasant experience? Are they frowning and does their voice break or shake? Are you frowning and feeling sad?

Resourcing

Identifying resources and tracking sensations connected to the resource develops internal resiliency and a renewed sense of one’s own abilities and capacity to stabilize the nervous system. Individuals are often surprised about how many resources that they have in their life.

However, if a person cannot identify a resource, the hope of creating one can also bring about changes within the nervous system. As the person begins to sense pleasant, neutral, or less distressing sensations in the body connected to the identified resource, they can begin to feel hope and possibility. Resourcing is a strength-building skill. Resources can be expanded by including pleasant smells, sights, touch, taste, sounds, places, people, and traditions. Note that what might be a resource for one person may not be a resource for someone else, in fact the same resource can cause an unpleasant memory or sensation for someone else. For example, for some people, a dog might be a resource but for someone who was bitten by a dog it may not be a resource.

Activity 4a

Answer one or some of these questions to identify your resources, feel free to write, draw, or identify your resources according to your preference:

• What or who uplifts you?
• What or who gives you strength?
• What or who helps you get through hard times?

Activity 4b

Activity 4b is resource intensification which strengthens the “felt sense” of the resource and overrides attention that automatically goes to unpleasant sensations arising from other thoughts, emotions, or experiences. Either close your eyes or keep them open, whatever feels comfortable for you, and think about one resource and track sensations that arise. Spend a few minutes exploring the following questions for resource intensification and then write or draw your observations if you wish.

• What does your resource look like?
• What are the colours?
• What are the smells?
• What does it feel like?
• Where do you experience those sensations?
• Is there a temperature associated with it such as cool or warm?
• Are there sounds?
• Do the sensations change?

Grounding

Grounding is the direct contact of the body with a surface or with something that provides support to the body. When we are grounded, we are aware of our body in the present moment which can help reduce worries about the past or the future.

There are different ways to ground the body. For those who have experienced an earthquake, using the ground may trigger unpleasant sensations and memories. There are other ways to ground such as by using our hands to push against the wall or another solid object. Below is a grounding exercise that you can read line by line or record yourself (such as on your phone) reading it out loud and then playing it back to yourself. Feel free to write your observations from exercise A or B into the space provided below, or both and compare similarities and differences.

Activity 5: Try out the grounding exercise

1. Find a comfortable position, sitting, lying down or standing, take your time. Open or close your eyes, whichever you prefer. Notice how your body is making contact with a surface.
2. If sitting, bring attention to your seat making contact with the sofa, chair, etc.…now notice your legs…and then your feet making contact with a solid surface.
3. Notice the sensations that are more pleasant to you or neutral within your body…take your time…notice your breathing…heart rate…muscle relaxation.
4. If you become aware of uncomfortable sensations, bring your attention to places that feel neutral or more comfortable/pleasant.
5. As you bring your attention to neutral or comfortable/pleasant sensations, notice any change.
6. Spend some moments noticing sensations that are pleasant and/or neutral.
7. As you get ready to end, slowly scan your body and bring your attention to all sensations that are pleasant or neutral.

Write down any observations you would like to note and remember.

Help Now/Reset Now!

Help Now! is a list of ten strategies that can reset the nervous system when a person is bumped into the High or Low Zones. Help Now! Strategies can be used in crisis situations and can help you return to your Resilient Zone.

Activity 6: Try out the Help Now! strategies

1. Drink a glass of water, a cup of tea, or a cup of juice.
2. Look around the room or wherever you are, noticing anything that catches your attention.
3. Name six colors you see in the room (or outside).
4. Open your eyes and soften your gaze (if eyes are tightly closed).
5. Count backwards from 10 as you walk around the room.
6. If you’re inside or outside, touch a surface. Is it hard, soft, cool, warm?
7. Notice the temperature in the room
8. Notice the sounds within and outside the room.
9. 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, facing forward and gently push your back into the wall.

Write down your favourite three Help Now! strategies.

Part 3: CRM Care Plans

Now to apply the concepts (The Resilient Zone), and the skills learned (Tracking, Resourcing, Grounding, Help Now!) to your self-care plan and then to your community care plan. It can be helpful to share your self-care and community-care plans with others.

CRM Self-Care Plan

Before we care for others, it is important that we care for ourselves. This is similar to the instructions on a plane to put one’s own oxygen mask on first before helping others put their mask on.

Activity 6a

Answer one or some of the following questions:

1. What are you already doing in your life to widen your Resilient Zone?
2. If you found the 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.

Activity 6b

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.

Write down any observations you would like to note and remember.

CRM Community Care Plan

Sharing CRM with family members, friends, peers, colleagues, neighbours, organizations, and community members (they can all be referred to as community for the purpose of Activity 6c) can create a culture of understanding about how the nervous system functions to encourage a resiliency-focused approach and enhance support when we or others are experiencing stressful or traumatic events.

Activity 6c

Answer one or some of the following questions:

1. How could you use CRM Skills in your community?
2. What steps would you need to take to begin using CRM Skills in your community?
3. What strengths does your community have that would support bringing CRM Skills to more people?
4. What challenges would you expect?
5. When can you start and with whom?

Summary

We all experience difficult times at different times in our lives. However, we can reduce our suffering by shifting from our low or high zone to our Resilient Zone and we can also help others by assisting them in returning to their Resilient Zone. Figure 3.10 below brings together some of the concepts, skills, and activities.

As noted earlier, all human beings share the same type of nervous system, and it is a quality we all have in common and brings us together: our shared humanity. The CRM model was designed to be easily accessible, transportable, affordable, and adaptable. Feel free to use CRM to enhance your resilience and to share with others to enhance their resilience. An easy way to share about CRM is through the iChill app which is free and available in several languages. You can also learn more about CRM and CRM training by visiting https://www.traumaresourceinstitute.com/.

Evalyna’s Acknowledgements

I am thankful for Elaine Miller-Karas, LCSW, who is the key developer of the CRM wellness skills. Thank you, Elaine, for your innovative spirit and your commitment, as well as that of the Trauma Resource Institute team, to ensuring that CRM is accessible to everyone anywhere in the world to strengthen their resiliency. Thank you to the Trauma Resource Institute for providing me with a scholarship to become a certified CRM teacher. In return, I am committed to sharing CRM in Canada and internationally. I am also grateful to Dr. Julie Drolet, my postdoctoral supervisor, who suggested that Elaine and I facilitate a CRM workshop for the Social Work and Disaster (SWAD) Network and introduce it to professionals, volunteers, and students who are working in, or studying, emergencies and disasters. For more information about CRM and the Trauma Resource Institute, visit: https://www.traumaresourceinstitute.com/

Notes

1. 1 Resilience and resiliency are used interchangeably in this chapter.

2. 2 The term freeze has been interpreted differently and can include orienting freeze, tonic immobility, or death feigning. For more information visit https://www.nicabm.com/topic/freeze/.

3. 3 William James first mentioned plasticity in regards to the nervous system in 1890. However, the term ‘neuroplasticity’ is credited to Jerzy Konorski in 1948 and then within 1 year was popularized by Donald Hebb (Puderbaugh & Emmady, 2022).

4. 4 The mnemonic created by Carla Schatz, which is not entirely accurate, is based on psychologist Donald Hebb’s research on neurophysiological account of learning and memory and is referred to as Hebbian learning (Keysers & Gazzola, 2014).

5. 5 The iChill app can be downloaded for free from iChillapp.com and has both visual and audio components.

References

Barbash, E. (2017, March 13). Different types of trauma: Small ‘t’ versus large ‘T’. Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/trauma-and-hope/201703/different-types-trauma-small-t-versus-large-t

Bonanno, G. (2009). The Other side of sadness: What the new science of bereavement tells us about life after loss. Basic Book: New York, NY.

Duva, I. M., Murphy, J. R., & Grabbe, L. (2022). A nurse-led, well-being promotion using the Community Resiliency Model, Atlanta, 2020–2021. American Journal of Public Health, 112, S271_S274, https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2022.306821

Fair, J. (2018). Components of the nervous system are outlined in the graph. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Nervous_system_components#/media/File:Components_of_the_Nervous_System.png

Freeman, K., Baek, K., Ngo, M., Kelley, V., Karas, E., Citron, S., & Montgomery, S. (2021). Exploring the usability of a community resiliency model approach in a high need/low resourced traumatized community. Community Mental Health Journal, 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-021-00872-z

Grabbe, L., Higgins, M. K., Baird, M., Craven, P. A., & San Fratello, S. (2020a). The Community Resiliency Model® to promote nurse well-being. Nursing Outlook, 68(3), 324–336. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.outlook.2019.11.002

Grabbe, L., Higgins, M., Jordan, D., Noxsel, L., Gibson, B., & Murphy, J. (2020b). The Community Resiliency Model®: A pilot of an interoception intervention to increase the emotional self-regulation of women in addiction treatment. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 19, 793-808. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-019-00189-9

Grabbe, L., Higgins, M. K., Baird, M., & Pfeiffer, K. M. (2021). Impact of a resiliency training to support the mental well-being of front-line workers: Brief report of a quasi-experimental study of the Community Resiliency Model. Medical Care, 59(7), 616–621. https://doi.org/10.1097/mlr.0000000000001535

Habimana, S., Biracyaza, E., Habumugisha, E., Museka, E., Mutabaruka, J., & Montgomery, S. (2021). Role of Community Resiliency Model skills trainings in trauma healing among 1994 Tutsi genocide survivors in Rwanda. Psychology Research and Behavior Management, 2021(14), 1139–1148. https://doi.org/10.2147/PRBM.S319057

Johnson, K. (2017). Behavioral health brief: Advancing trauma-informed approaches and resilience. Social Work Today, 17(6), p. 32.

Keysers, C., & Gazzola, V. (2014). Hebbian learning and predictive mirror neurons for actions, sensations and emotions. Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences, 369(1644), 20130175. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2013.0175

Miller-Karas, E. (2015). Building resilience to trauma: The trauma and community resiliency models. Routledge.

Miller-Karas, E. (2019). Position paper using the Community Resiliency Model®. Trauma Resource Institute.

Miller-Karas, E. (2021). Trauma Resource Institute organization overview: The community and trauma resiliency models. Trauma Resource Institute. https://www.traumaresourceinstitute.com/s/TRI-Overview_20210528.pdf

Paulus, M. P, & Stein, M. B. (2010). Interoception in anxiety and depression. Brain Structure & Function, 214(5-6), 451-463. 10.1007/s00429-010-0258-9

Puderbaugh, M., & Emmady, P. D. (2022).Neuroplasticity. StatPearls Publishing.

Trauma Resource Institute [TRI]. (2021, September 20a). Community Resiliency Model (CRM)® teacher training [PowerPoint Slides].

Trauma Resource Institute [TRI]. (2021, September 20b). Community Resiliency Model (CRM)® teacher training PowerPoint slide guide [PDF file].

Wnuk, A. (2016, July 21). Neurogenesis: An overview. BrainFacts.org. https://www.brainfacts.org/Thinking-Sensing-and-Behaving/Brain-Development/2016/Neurogenesis-An-Overview-072116