From Trauma To Healing Summary

Each of the books I read, From Trauma to Healing and From Crisis to Recovery were helpful to me in different ways. Ann Goelitz, provided an easy to read book that better prepared me for working with trauma survivors and opened my eyes to how I respond with trauma victims and how I can improve. George Doherty’s book went hand in hand with the trainings we completed in class to learn how to respond in a disaster situation. I also liked how this book discussed resilience in a deeper and more specific way.
In our book, From Trauma to Healing, the chapter on secondary trauma stood out to me the most. Ever since I began my career as a social worker, I have had a problem with over identifying with clients or their situation. I did not realize what this was until this year when I learned about vicarious traumatization. Goelitz (2017), provided many definitions that helped me define some of my feelings and actions. I am already familiar with burnout, but I learned about compassion fatigue and avoidance.
My first internship position was at the Partnership domestic violence shelter. My job there was to read the stories of victims of human trafficking and intimate partner violence and transcribe them from Spanish to English. The …show more content…
Doherty’s chapter on recovery and return to equilibrium was the most interesting to me. As I previously stated, I have not experienced a disaster before and thus, do not know what to expect from a community who has. This chapter reveals that this is when resilience is tested. One cannot predict exactly how a community may respond, but there is research on things practitioners can expect. Such as, an increase in specific types of presenting problems, loss of property, basic needs and people, and damages. Doherty also specifies that communities need to contribute to their own recovery and this should be incorporated into the emergency planning