Dreamin Reviews: Trauma Stewardship
By: Jasmin Roden, LMSW, CAADC
This review is for my fellow mental health providers and other providers in the human services and medical field. The book I am reflecting on is Trauma Stewardship: An Everyday Guide to Caring for Self While Caring for Others by Laura Van Dernoot Lipsky with Connie Burk. I was personally hooked on this book after reading the first page of the introduction. It resonated with me to the core. This book is broken up into four parts, understanding trauma stewardship, mapping your response to trauma exposure, creating change from the inside out, and finding your way to trauma stewardship. Essentially, this book describes secondary trauma, how to build resiliency from the effects, and what to do when one does experience secondary trauma symptoms.
Part one of the book is understanding what exactly trauma stewardship entails and means. Laura defines that professions that may experience trauma are social workers, ecologists, teachers, firefighters, medical personnel, police officers, environmentalists, home health aides, military personnel, domestic violence workers, biologists, international relief workers, and so on. Essentially those that interact with “suffering, pain, and crisis of others or our planet. Explanation and examples of how working with those who are suffering impacts at the personal, organizational, and societal levels.
Part two of the book encompasses what is trauma exposure and how to map your own response to trauma exposure. A trauma exposure response, per Laura, may be defined as “transformation that takes place within us as a result of exposure to the suffering of other living beings or the planet.” A big takeaway from when I read this book is how normal reactions are to being exposure to traumatic experiences. For myself, there have been times that I have questioned if maybe I am too “soft” for the social work field and it was comforting for me to read that I was/am not alone. Chapter four was particularly helpful as Laure describes 16 warning signs of a trauma exposure response. Those responses include:
Helpless and hopelessness
A sense that one can never do enough
Hypervigilance
Diminished creativity
Inability to embrace complexity
Minimizing
Chronic exhaustion and physical ailments
Inability to listen and deliberate avoidance
Dissociative moments
A sense of persecution
Guilt
Fear
Anger and cynicism
An inability to emphasize or numbing
Addictions
Grandiosity.
Laura gives plenty of examples throughout this chapter to put these warning signs in perspective.
Part three of the book is about what to do once we recognize that we have suffered from a trauma response. As with most stress-based mental health issues, self-care is highlighted in this book. Not just bubble baths and massages, but also finding connection with others, whether it be a therapist or a social group. Taking care of yourself with a healthy lifestyle is important as well. The importance of being present and mindful is also explored.
Part four of the book introduces what it means to be a trauma steward. Laura presents this with a navigational tool with what she calls the Five Directions. These tools help a trauma steward stay centered and mitigate trauma exposure responses. The North is composed of creating a space for inquiry, asking yourself why you are doing what you are doing in your work. What is your intention? The East is a way to change focus, what is your plan B? The South is building compassion and community, creating a microculture to take care of oneself. Think of ways that you can foster positive change within your workspace. The West is finding balance in our lives. Chapter 11 gives practical tools and tips to incorporate into your work life to create a balance between the chaos. The Center is a daily practice of centering oneself, cultivating an intention for the day, and incorporating a mindfulness practice.
Recommended Reader: I would recommend this to any mental health therapists or substance abuse counselors. First responders and Emergency care folks. Any profession or work that entails helping and supporting people who are suffering or in pain.
Readability: This is an easy to moderate level of reading. Part four also has “Try This” sections to help the reader implement some of the suggestions that Laura provides. This book is loaded with information but is written in a way that is easy enough to understand.
It is important to note that these books and other resources are not appropriate or meant to replace mental health or substance abuse treatment. If your symptoms are impacting your daily life, please seek treatment.