Article Review
The article Developing Trauma Training for an Indigenous Community: Hopefully Not Seagulls is written by Gail Green concerning treatment of post traumatic disorders among the aboriginal communities in Australia. The article outlines an empirical model that directs individuals to identify trauma responses and various ways to treat the post-traumatic disorders. Green working with the organization Australian Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (ASTS) seeks to progress in terms of knowledge, policies, and ethical standards promoting treatment of trauma. His model, Conservation of Resources theory, which outlines that, treating stress drains resources, insecurity due to threats and horror, and struggles to obtain justice. However, this model concentrates on promoting security, calming, self and collective efficacy, and the creation of hope. Moreover, the COR model espouses the need for Trauma Informed Care in treating trauma. This thesis critically reviews the article written by Green concerning the treatment of post traumatic disorders.
In this perspective, the article by Green seems effective in dealing with people, who have encountered traumatic situations such as sexual harassment, neglects, war, abduction, and terrorist attack. However, the article does not stress on the importance of certain steps within the COR model. Principally, trauma is not only specific for the indigenous community since everybody is exposed to the real world as much as the other person, therefore; the chance for having post traumatic disorder is equally the same for all communities. However, it is appropriate to prioritize among some group of people. The theory supported by Green prioritize on providing learning opportunities for clients to enable them clients to define and understand the significance of trauma, assess, normalize reaction, and management of a traumatic situation. However, the model fails to outline a concise strategy and steps follow in such scenarios.
According to this critique, the use of therapeutic approaches is the first step towards treatment of traumatic patients. The therapeutic approach necessitates the therapist with the need to learn about the incidence causing trauma, the cultural background, and the appropriate therapy that can be applied. Among the most appropriate form of therapy unmentioned by Green is the brief psychodynamic psychotherapy which includes analyzing the emotional conflict as a result of traumatic experience. This strategy also involves exploring early life experiences of the clients that might be the cause low self esteem and lack of self acceptance. Green has also attempted to explain the cognitive behavioral therapy, however; thesis prioritize on the behavior theory based on learning experience aimed at helping clients weakens the link between the distressing event and the regular thought in their daily lives. The cognitive approach is effective since it deals with emotions and it also has other subdivisions to help solve the traumatic situation. Among them include exposure to therapy which encourage clients to face their fear, system desensitization that gradually makes client to recall upsetting situation to enable clients to treat traumatic situation, anxiety management also lightly discussed by Green which helps the client to deal with provoking situations, and lastly there is the stress inoculation strategy which partly considers aptitude building procedures and introducing psycho-education that help in solve traumatic occasions through relaxation, self-dialogues, and breath regulation.
Accordingly, green has the overview of the entire process to solve traumatic situations. However, he does not strategize the correct format to solve the situation. The first step towards recovery is to establish security among the patient through considering supporting clients, allowing clients to take control of the therapeutic environment, and adopting a neutral stand in the client emotional conflict. The subsequent stage is helping the client remember and allow time for mourning. This will enable the therapist to get the entire picture of the situation causing distress. Then the third stage is called reconnection which includes strategies set to reconcile the past with the present, and it helps to eradicate conflict of emotions caused by trauma. Coordination of three stages will help Green to achieve the outline mission in his article. Then after achieving this set of strategies, there is a need for a feedback model, to evaluate the success of the process both in early and advanced stages. Lastly after this kind of therapy has been concluded then, patient might be forced to use the Pharmacotherapy which includes the issuance of a series of medication for treating depression, anxiety, and insomnia directed at enhancing relaxation. The feedback model is evaluated on the basis of self-care, acknowledgement, expression, and relationship with other people.
As seen in the above critique, the article by Green has the basics for the treatment of traumatic events. However, this critique does not agree with the methods for treating traumatic situation. Instead, the critique proposes that treatment for traumatic disorder is not limited only to aboriginal communities, but rather all communities have the same probability of exposure to distressing situations. Also, this critique proposes a number of strategies to be used in treatment distressing situations such as therapeutic approaches, brief psychodynamic psychotherapy, cognitive-behavioral therapy, and pharmacotherapy. Moreover, this thesis includes steps crucial for treat traumatic patients and clients including creating security so as to prepare the client for the entire process, remembering and mourning the situation, and reconnecting the past with the present. Therefore, the article by Green is has the basic concept for treating trauma, but the critical analysis of the article demonstrates that Green has gone shallow, and also has included a lot of generalities in treating traumatic situations. Therefore, this thesis does not concur with Green conclusion and use of COR model.
References
G. G. (2011). Developing Trauma Training for an Indigenous Community: Hopefully Not Seagull. Australian Social Work, 215-227.
