Ep 138: Addressing the Pain of Trauma Through Healing Communities

SUMMARY 

We invite you to join us for this episode as Global Leadership Podcast Co-Producers Eric Case and Aubrey Wentz sit down with Rebecca Taguma, Executive Director of the Trauma Healing Institute, to discuss how the effects of unresolved trauma on individuals, and some practical steps that leaders can take to get help for those affected in their churches and on their teams.  

IN THIS EPISODE:  

• What is the Trauma Healing Institute, and what kind of work does it do?  

• What is a helpful and accurate definition of “trauma”?  

• How does trauma manifest itself around the world?  

• How does Trauma Healing Institute approach healing from trauma?  

• How can I practice being a safe listener in low-risk situations so that I’m prepared to be safe in a high stress/high risk situation?  

• How can church leaders best respond to folks that are experiencing unresolved trauma?  

LISTEN 

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STANDOUTS AND TAKEAWAYS 

• Trauma is a deep wound of the heart and mind that takes a long time to heal.  
• Trauma can also affect all of who we are as human beings: socially, mentally, emotionally, spiritually and even physically.  
• A common experience of trauma is that we feel overwhelmed with intense fear, helplessness, or horror, and there’s nothing we can do stop it from happening.  
• Seventy percent of the world’s population has been exposed to a traumatic life event. That is a billion people.  
• All human beings are exposed to trauma; it’s the unresolved trauma that is the problem.  
• Trauma is everything from significant, tragic experience to just the reality of being human.  
• For the Trauma Healing Institute, community is fundamentally the answer.  
• Trauma can shut off individuals from one another, which can prevent healing from occurring.  
• Signs of unresolved trauma in an individual can include: reliving (through nightmares, obsessive thoughts, etc.); avoiding (by numbing or avoiding feelings); and being “on alert” (tense, overreacting, a general sense of dread).  
• The number one thing someone can do to be a part of another’s healing is to be a safe listener. Ask: 
• What happened?  
• How did it make you feel?  
• What was the hardest part?  
• A safe listener does not talk. 
• Often, leaders are at their best when they are equipped to refer: to professionals, to helpful resources, etc.  
• More than any other population in North America, young people are the most affected by trauma and mental health concerns. At the same time, they are also the most comfortable talking about it.  

LINKS MENTIONED 

• Website: Trauma Healing Institute 
• Book: Healing the Wounds of Trauma 
• Added Value: Free Resources for Addressing and Healing Trauma 
• Added Value: The THI Mobile App 
• Website: Global Leadership Network 

THIS EPISODE SPONSORED BY:  

• World Vision