Sexual Trauma Study Notes
1. TRAUMA, SEXUAL TRAUMA & COUNSELLING
1.1 DEFINING STRESS, CRISES & TRAUMA
Stress
• A strain we feel at different times/in different situations
• Set of external forces impinging on the person (unemployment, crime, etc)
• Set of psychological & physiological reactions (racing heart, sweating palms etc)
• Can be opportunity for growth - The spark that pushes us into action
• The extent to which an individual experiences stress depends on the event, together with the individual’s personality & ability to cope
Crises
• A normal reaction to a difficult experience an individual has not faced before
• In crises a person feels - Confused, overwhelmed & unable to cope
• Can be an external event, or an internal one caused by development
• A turning point - An opportunity to learn skills, find resources & adapt
Trauma
Trauma Definitions
• “Situations in which the victim is rendered powerless and great danger is involved” “Profound deviation from normal life experience”
THUS sudden, overwhelming, unanticipated, suggests threat of injury or death. experience - fear, helplessness, loss of control & extreme powerlessness
• Traumatic events - extraordinary - overwhelm the ordinary human adaptations to life - generally involve threats to life or bodily integrity, or a close personal encounter with violence or death.
• Most notable characteristic: the feelings of helplessness & terror that victims are left to deal with.
4
The Effects of Trauma
• Trauma overtaxes the ability to cope
• Can damage mental health
• Traumatised people feel & act as though their nervous systems have been disconnected from the present: - Persistent expectation of danger - Imprint of the traumatic event that does not fade - Numbing response of giving up that becomes generalised.
• Psychologically & mentally, trauma refers to: - wounding of emotions, will to live - beliefs about the self & the world - dignity and sense
1.1 DEFINING STRESS, CRISES & TRAUMA
Stress
• A strain we feel at different times/in different situations
• Set of external forces impinging on the person (unemployment, crime, etc)
• Set of psychological & physiological reactions (racing heart, sweating palms etc)
• Can be opportunity for growth - The spark that pushes us into action
• The extent to which an individual experiences stress depends on the event, together with the individual’s personality & ability to cope
Crises
• A normal reaction to a difficult experience an individual has not faced before
• In crises a person feels - Confused, overwhelmed & unable to cope
• Can be an external event, or an internal one caused by development
• A turning point - An opportunity to learn skills, find resources & adapt
Trauma
Trauma Definitions
• “Situations in which the victim is rendered powerless and great danger is involved” “Profound deviation from normal life experience”
THUS sudden, overwhelming, unanticipated, suggests threat of injury or death. experience - fear, helplessness, loss of control & extreme powerlessness
• Traumatic events - extraordinary - overwhelm the ordinary human adaptations to life - generally involve threats to life or bodily integrity, or a close personal encounter with violence or death.
• Most notable characteristic: the feelings of helplessness & terror that victims are left to deal with.
4
The Effects of Trauma
• Trauma overtaxes the ability to cope
• Can damage mental health
• Traumatised people feel & act as though their nervous systems have been disconnected from the present: - Persistent expectation of danger - Imprint of the traumatic event that does not fade - Numbing response of giving up that becomes generalised.
• Psychologically & mentally, trauma refers to: - wounding of emotions, will to live - beliefs about the self & the world - dignity and sense