WHITE PRIVILEDGE

It is so sad that Whites continue to be priviledged at the expense of others, mostly African-Americans. The priviledge is a weight on whites as we suffer from the abuse that is perpetrated in our name whether we agree with it or not. Our country grew up supporting racism and white priviledge and it is woven into our culture and to change this we must choose to see the priviledge for the abuse that it represents whether by financial institutions refusing loans or having higher interst rates, maintaining segregation through realestate practices or by promoting Whites only charter schools. According to Resmaa Menakem [My Grandmother's Hands] Whites suffer in their bodies from a long pattern of reacting to African-Americans as a threat and yet are also frequently dependent on them. Mr. Menakem feels that Whites need to become aware of their bodies response to African-Americans and change it so that they can process and then dismiss their emotional reactions and begin to see them as like themselves and not a threat. Mr. Menakem sees the police as needing a lot of support to overcome their frequent automatic response as if African-Americans are dangerous with the increased risk that lethal force will be used inappropriately.  Support to help the police to manage traumatic experiences that they have as well as help people they are responsible for keeping safe to resolve any traumatic experiences that they might have. Finally, Menakem also sees African-Americans as needing to stop their automatic response of defering to Whites and feeling responsible for them. If we all can overcome our rapid, automatic and destructive body responses to others we will be free to experience our common humanity and not need to live in fear or with the weight of prejudice and judging others. 

I believe that what Menakem is describing is similar to patterns of behavior that develop related to our automatically perceiving people or situations to be dangerous because of past traumatic experiences. Our behaviors are meant to protect us from the danger that we [or our ancestors?] had experienced in the past . The human brain is capable of storing patterns of behavior and accessing them instantly [in a nanosecond which is a billionth of a second] to protect us. We are reacting before we are even aware that we are. This makes changing these patterns of behavior much more difficult, even if we actually no longer need to be afraid or react to what is no longer a threat to us. According to Menakem, we all need to be aware of changes in our bodies that indicate we are recalling past threats and need to calm ourselves down to avoid reacting. This is especially important if we by the nature of our work, carry guns. Menakem recommends therapeutic support for police officers who are exposed to violence or participate in violence. It is important for all of us to develop this awareness of changes in our bodies that can activate old patterns of behavior that we no longer need and can lead to conflicts in our relationships with others. Then we need to learn ways to diffuse these reactions so we do not get triggered and thus do not react to them. How do we learn ways to diffuse our reactions?

What do you think?

TF-CBT [TRAUMA FOCUSED COGNITIVE BEHAVIORAL THERAPY] FOR CHILDREN WHO HAVE BEEN AFFECTED BY SEXUAL ABUSE OR OTHER TRAUMATIC EXPERIENCES

It has become very clear how damaging chronic stress is for our bodies and our minds.  It is also becoming clearer how many children are traumatized by different types of events and suffer from chronic stress.  TF-CBT was developed to specifically treat symptoms of chronic stress [Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)].  This has been adapted for use with children and recent studies have demonstrated it's effectiveness.  To review some of these studies you can go to: The California Evidence-Based Clearinghouse For Child Welfare (2011) at http-//www.cebc4cw.org; or SAMHSA Model Programs: National Registry of Evidence-Based Programs and Practices at http://ncrepp.samhsa.gov. There have also been studies showing benefit for children who have witnessed violence, see Cohen, Mannarin, & Lyengar, 2011 and also benefiting parents. Children who have experienced abuse often experience: feelings of guilt for what they see as their role in the abuse; anger toward their parents for not knowing about the abuse and for not protecting them; feelings of being powerless; feeling that they are "damaged goods"; and fears that they will be treated differently because of the abuse. They also may demonstrate negative behaviors, have other mental health problems such as depression and have PTSD symptoms that include: intrusive and traumatic thoughts of the abuse; avoidance of reminders of the abuse; emotional numbing; irritability; trouble with sleep and concentration; and physical and emotional hyperarousal with sudden and more extreme emotional reactions than is indicated for different situations. 

Benefits of TF-CBT for abused children include: reduced symptoms of PTSD and depression and also reduced behavioral problems while providing support and positive coping skills for non-offending parents.  TF-CBT components are described using the word PRACTICE.  P = psychoeducation and parenting skills. R = relaxation techniques. A= affective expression and regulation.  C= cognitive coping and processing.  T= trauma narrative and processing.  I= in vivo exposure.  C= conjoint parent and child sessions.  E= enhancing personal safety and future growth.   The therapy involves individual and parent and child sessions.  In our hospital based treatment program at the Copestone Child and Adolescent Inpatient Programs at Mission Hospital, we have found that a group therapy focus can more rapidly help children and adolescents to feel less stressed about their problems and to learn positive coping skills as they support each other in talking about their problems and learning better coping skills. 

Hopefully, more children who have been abused will be identified and referred to therapists who have been trained in TF-CBT.  It is important to note that some children or adolescents who have been running away, cutting themselves or are actively suicidal should be stabilized first using DBT [dialectical behavioral therapy] before TF-CBT is used.  For more information on TF-CBT you can go to the Child Welfare Information Gateway at http://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/trauma.