Jewish Federations of North America’s Center on Holocaust Survivor Care and Institute on Aging and Trauma is hosting the Training Workshop, Aging and Trauma, in Dallas on May 7-9, 2023. This event is the premier training opportunity for service providers and experts to hone their skills in providing person-centered, trauma-informed (PCTI) care to Holocaust survivors, diverse older adults with a history of trauma, and their family caregivers. Our draft schedule is here and website with logistical information is here. We expect ~200 participants, who will mostly be case managers, social workers, and program managers.
Session Time: Monday, May 8, 2023, 10:45AM – 12:00PM
Session Description: The imprint of trauma can be experienced by a person across their lifespan regardless of whether they experienced the event firsthand. From her work with tribal communities, clinician and researcher Maria Yellow Horse Brave Heart describes historical trauma as the “cumulative emotional and psychological wounding over the lifespan and across generations, emanating from massive group trauma experience.” In this powerful session, we’ll hear from a panel of older adults and family caregivers describing their experience with historical trauma and how it has impacted them over the course of their lives. Woven throughout the session will be PCTI conversation prompts that participants can use as a model to support relationships with clients.
Key Learning Objectives
1. Describe historical trauma and the groups and/or individuals that it may impact.
2. Name three impacts of historical trauma
3. Identify three PCTI conversation prompts to integrate into client and staff interactions in the work setting.
Evaluation Questions
1. What is historical trauma and one group that it might impact?
2. What are three impacts of historical trauma?
3. What are three PCTI conversation prompts that you might consider integrating into client interactions in your work setting?
Speakers
· Moderator: Bill Benson, President, International Association for Indigenous Aging, Health Benefits ABCs
o William F. Benson is President of Health Benefits ABCs, a policy consulting practice. He has spent 5 decades advocating for older adults, holding senior leadership positions in California, the U.S. Congress and U.S. Administration on
Aging. Benson played a major role in amendments to the Older Americans Act, nursing home reform legislation, the Elder Justice Act, and other notable legislative initiatives. He serves as the public policy consultant to the National Adult Protective Services Association and American Association of Service Coordinators, among others. He is co-founder and President of the International Association for Indigenous Aging (IA2), a national organization representing the interests of American Indian and Alaska Native elders. Since 2000 Benson has hosted First Person, a series of conversations with Holocaust Survivors for the U.S Holocaust Memorial Museum. Contact him at tbcg@starpower.net
· Celena Donahue, Health Equity Advocate, Talking Circle Facilitator, and a Senior Quality Improvement Specialist, Centene Corporation-HealthNet
o Celena Donahue is a Pueblo Indian, and her family is Hupa, Yurok, and Karuk. She was raised on the Hoopa Valley Indian Reservation in rural northeastern Humboldt County. She graduated from California State University of Sacramento in 2008. She currently is a Health Equity Advocate, Talking Circle Facilitator, and a Senior Quality Improvement Specialist. As a Sr. Quality Improvement Specialist at Health Net, Celena is responsible for multiple cross-functional initiatives addressing clinical quality and service improvement programs where she developed programs targeted to improve STAR Ratings, HEDIS, Health Outcome Survey, and other identified performance measures for Health Net’s Commercial/Marketplace population. She also has 17 years in Clinical Pathology and has been working in Public Health for over a decade which she has successfully collaborated with numerous tribes, Indian Health Services (IHS), community clinics, and different stakeholders in the healthcare community over the past several years. As a result of her collaborative efforts there has been a significant increase in health and cancer screenings. She has a vested interest in tribal communities and minimizing the healthcare disparities in these communities. Celena has also served as the internal subject matter expert on Tribal Public Health Issues, working on culturally appropriate materials, training, and guides. She has strong ties through a plethora of tribal communities where she has served as a community member and healthcare professional. Celena currently volunteers and serves as a Chair and Board member for several tribal coalitions, boards, and committees.
· Yaffa Podbilewicz-Weinberg, Ph.D., Clinical Psychologist, Director Holocaust Survivor Care, Jewish Family Service of Greater Dallas
o Dr. Yaffa Podbilewicz-Weinberg is a Licensed Psychologist who specializes in Clinical and Health Psychology. She has a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from University of Missouri – St. Louis with training in trauma and victim services. She completed a postdoctoral year at the Division of Health Behavior Research, Washington University School of Medicine where she had a faculty position working on psycho-oncology and was involved in research, education of doctoral
and post-doctoral trainees and care of cancer patients and their families. Her private practice work has continued to focus on Clinical and Health Psychology with attention to care of individuals with acute, chronic and rare medical conditions. Through her role as Director of the Holocaust Survivor Care program at Jewish Family Service of Greater Dallas, she serves Holocaust Survivors and their caregivers. She currently serves older adults with history of trauma using a person-centered trauma-informed approaches that crafts interventions and care to each person’s individual circumstances, building from their strengths. She provides educational sessions to staff and community organizations and has presented at national and international conferences.
· Dr. Michael W. Waters, Co-Founder and Principal, MYWaters Consulting, LLC
o Michael W. Waters is the founder and lead pastor of the Abundant Life A.M.E. Church in Dallas, Texas. He serves as an adjunct professor and executive board member of the Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, and he is co-founder and principal of MYWaters Consulting, LLC, which provides race equity training and resources nationally to corporations, organizations, educational institutions, and religious institutions. Dr. Waters completed his B.A., M.Div., and D.Min. with honors at Southern Methodist University and is presently a PhD student at the Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis, Indiana. A national award-winning author of five non-fiction and children’s books on race and justice, Dr. Waters has appeared on ABC Nightline, BBC World News, CBS This Morning, C-SPAN, MSNBC, National Public Radio, The NBC Nightly News, PBS Newshour, and VICE on HBO. He has also been featured or mentioned in/on The Associated Press, The Chicago Tribune, The Christian Century, D Magazine, Ebony Magazine, GQ Magazine, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, SiriusXM, Texas Monthly, The Today Show, and The Washington Post among other media outlets. Dr. Waters has contributed subject expert commentary on race for several documentaries, and he has addressed such esteemed institutions as the Muhammad Ali Center, American Airlines, the National Civil Rights Museum, Oxford University, the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, and the United States House of Representatives. He is the former vice chair of Foot Soldiers Park and Educational Center in Selma, Alabama, whose mission is to “preserve and memorialize the Civil Rights history of Selma…and prepare the next generation of activists to continue the fight against racial injustice and voter suppression.” Dr. Waters is married to the Reverend Atty. Yulise Reaves Waters, Esq., and they are the proud parents of four children.
Potential Interview Questions
· In what ways do you experience the impact of historical trauma?
· What is important to you that we understand about this impact for you?
· Has the way historical trauma impacts you changed over the course of your life?
· What trauma triggers should service providers be aware of and how can the triggers be avoided?
· Questions related to trauma-informed principles
o What has supported you to experience physical safety when interacting with a service provider?
o What supports you to experience emotional safety when interacting with a service provider?
o What helps you have an experience of trust when interacting with a service provider?
o In what ways have you experienced transparency when interacting with a service provider?
o Is peer support part of your support system? If so, in what ways do you experience this helpful?
o Are you comfortable sharing your perspective and what you need with people in authority?
o What helps you feel that there is a meaningful sharing of power and decision-making?
o How do you feel when you experience that you don’t have choice?
· What guidance do you have for service providers who care for people who experience the impact of historical trauma?
· What else do you wish people knew about historical trauma?
